


Candidate Seaborn

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Drama, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-07-09
Updated: 2005-07-09
Packaged: 2019-05-30 13:44:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 51,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15097868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career. Sequel toCracks in the Wall





	1. Candidate Seaborn

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


"Kathleen?" 

_Deep breath,_ she told herself at the interruption. There was no reason for her to snap the head off a perfectly good assistant just because she was a little stressed. Slowly she raised her head, rubbing the bridge of her nose before slipping her glasses on so she could see him clearly. Nick stood just inside the door looking a bit apprehensive. "Yeah?" 

"Melissa called over. Mr. Glass wants to make sure you guys leave in plenty of time, so it's my job to tell you need to go home and get changed." 

"No need," she replied, taking just a bit of perverse pleasure in the freak-out she knew was about to happen. 

"Kathleen, you can't do this to me," Nick pleaded. "I am not calling Mel back and telling her you're backing out. You'll have to write me a good letter of recommendation." 

He gave her a sharp look when she chuckled, soon bubbling over into laughter. "Sorry, but you get so worked up and I needed to laugh after today. I am _not_ backing out. I brought my gown here so I could change at work; it's hanging right over there if you'd only bothered to look. Mr. Glass needs to relax because I can guarantee that the President will be late and we have a reserved table, so it's not like open seating at a concert where we're all rushing for the front." 

"You want me to tell him that?" he challenged. 

"Are you kidding? I am not going to anger the senior partner in the firm who suddenly took me under his wing when he found out I was engaged to a senior advisor to the president. I don't particularly like that despite all my hard work for this firm that that's how I'm finally noticed, but I'm not going to spit on it." She stood and put some files away in the cabinet behind her desk, then turned back to Nick. "So tell Melissa I'll be ready to go when Mr. Glass is, but I'll be taking my own car. Anything else?" 

He smirked and she cringed. Anytime he smirked, it just meant more trouble for her. "Your mother called twice." 

"Oh great," she groaned and sat back down. "What was it this time?" 

"Names and numbers for more wedding consultants. Would you two please just pick a date already so she'll stop harassing me?" 

"If you'd go to law school you wouldn't have to deal with her anymore," she shot back. Anything to avoid talking about her non-existent wedding plans. "See, just one more reason, besides all the others I've given you." 

"Nice try, Kathleen," he laughed as he crossed the room. "How exactly is it that you can face down corporate lawyers and make them blink, stand up to the White House Chief of Staff, but you duck your mother's calls?" 

"You don't have sisters, do you?" 

"You know I don't," he answered, handing her the file she'd been searching for on her desk. It unnerved her when he did that. Like Radar O'Reilly by way of Pennsylvania instead of Iowa. 

"Thanks. Okay, I'm the only girl. The baby of my family. My three brothers got married, but the weddings were planned by my sisters-in-law. She loves them, but this is her _daughter's_ wedding. Not only that, her daughter is marrying the Deputy Director of Communications of the freaking _White House_. To say my mother is getting a little worked up is an understatement. Sam is so busy right now with re-election; I didn't see him at all this weekend because he was at the White House and then he's taking off later this week. When I actually _do_ get to see him, the last thing I'm going to do is try and set a wedding date." 

He took the file out of her hand, probably realizing she wasn't actually going to read it right now and set a brief in front of her she needed to initial. "I think Mother Donovan's not the only one who's getting a little worked up about the wedding." He paused when she looked up, her eyes snapping. "Alright, no more teasing from me...at least for a couple of days. I think you're done for the day." 

"Do we have everything ready for the Hemmer deposition?" she asked, not willing to just admit she was indeed ready to call it quits for the night. 

"It's all set. The motions for Martinez are done as well and the clerk walked them over to the courthouse this afternoon, so you even beat the deadline." He gave her a pointed look. "Relax. Get dressed. Go smile your gorgeous smile for the photos with Mr. Glass and the President, see your fiancé. He flies out tomorrow, so do you _really_ want to hang around here any longer than you have to?" 

"No. And you've convinced me. I'll get ready, I'll go, it'll be great. Right?" 

"Of course it will, Kathleen," he nodded as he headed for the door. "I'm going to call Melissa and let her know you're getting ready. Need anything else for tonight?" 

"Nope. Head on home," she smiled at him. "Look at that, you're out by eight. Hey, Nick..." 

He stopped in the doorway and turned. "Thanks for everything. Especially for fielding my mother." 

"Kathleen, do yourself a favor and just set a date. Half the weddings in the world never go off on the originally planned date, but your mother will calm down for a while at least and you'll calm down. Plus," he said, turning serious and even a little nervous, "if you get married next summer I can start law school next fall at G.W." 

"I'll keep that in mind. Have a good night, Nick." 

She sat down at her desk after he closed the door and kicked off her shoes. Nick had finally decided to move up from being a paralegal and actually go to law school; good for the law community, bad for her since she was losing a good assistant. She really did just need to set a wedding date with Sam. 

Next summer was probably when it was going to happen anyways, so why not just pick a date and at least get started. If they had to change it slightly later down the road, at least they weren't just sitting around doing nothing anymore. The campaign, debates, election and hopefully, inauguration were going to take them into the new year and the State of the Union would follow immediately after that. Then there was the honeymoon period where they'd work on their agenda and try to push through their most important legislation. Sam was going to be busy right all through then, probably until congress recessed for the summer. That gave them lots of time to plan, which was probably why her mother was getting so worked up. 

She'd do it this weekend, after Sam caught up from this past weekend and the campaign stop tomorrow. For now, she'd get dressed, go to the fundraiser with Mr. Glass, eat overpriced food, listen to the President speak Sam and Toby's words, and maybe, just maybe, catch a glimpse of her boyfriend before crawling into bed. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"Hey, Schmutzypants." 

"I know that voice," he smiled tiredly as he turned and took in the beauty before him. 

"I ran into C.J. in the hall, she filled me in on your new nickname." She hooked a thumb over her shoulder and stepped a little more into his office. 

"Obviously she doesn't know what you call me at home." He wore his fatigue well, but it was evident in the way he barely could work up a laugh. 

But she laughed as she walked into his office and stopped before him. "Let's keep it that way, shall we?" 

He kept the kiss short, just happy to finally get a chance to hold her and talk to her, instead of seeing her across a room. She stepped back, slipping the loosened tie from his collar and folding it over her fingers. "Ready to go home?" 

"I am beyond ready," he answered wearily. 

"Have they figured out where Josh, Toby and Donna are?" 

He wasn't even going to try and guess who had filled her in on that bit of information. "Somewhere in Indiana waiting for a flight." 

"I loved the addition to the speech about the bombing, it..." she shrugged as she watched him gather his things. "It was nice of the President to mention it. When'd you write it?" 

"In the car," he said as he turned out the lamp on his desk. "Honestly, I was surprised I could think and be coherent still." 

"Margaret said you were called in to staff the President since Josh was gone. Leo gave her a message for me. Quote 'Make sure he goes to bed, but make sure he's back in time for the flight.' Your boss just told me to put you to bed. Come on, Salior." 

She turned out the light and slipped her arm around him as they walked out of his office. He was so tired, yet extremely pleased with the day. "It was amazing." 

"What was?" she asked as they waved goodnight to the guard. To her credit she didn't even blink at his out of nowhere statement. He did them too often to phase her anymore. 

"Staffing him today. It was crazy in there, I don't know how Josh does it every day. I had one great moment where I felt like I pulled it all together; talking about the global ripple effect of the budget deficit. I want to do it again." 

By now they were at the car and she smiled up at him as he leaned against the door. "You're beaming." 

"Kathleen, it...it was just...amazing." 

"Climb in the car before you float away. You'll get back in there, I know you will. You can write the speeches they need from you and still do that if that's what you want." 

"It's like having my own personal cheerleading section," he laughed as he looked over at her. "Thank you." 

"I believe you can do anything you want, but people might say I'm biased because I love you." 

They fell silent until they arrived at home. Had it only been a few hours ago that he'd been sleeping, catching up after being away for nearly two days? As he walked into the bedroom he gave a tired bark of laughter as he saw the sheets were still half-pulled down on the floor. Stripping out of his tuxedo and haphazardly hanging it in the closet, he pulled on his pajama bottoms and wandered back out into the apartment in search of Kathleen. 

"I thought you were going to make sure I got tucked in," he teased as he came around the corner and saw her standing in the kitchen. 

Her high heel shoes clattered to the floor as she gasped and turned around. "You scared me. I thought you'd already fallen asleep." 

"Kathleen?" he questioned as she quickly scampered across the room out of his reach. "Hey, what's going on?" 

"Nothing," she shook her head quickly. "Come on, you've got to get some sleep. I'll set both alarms so you're there on time." 

"Hey, stop okay?" he reached out and snagged her arm. Her shoulders were tense, her mouth tightly pinched and her eyes seemed overly wide and bright. She'd been fine when they walked in the apartment, and there was only one thing that could make her go from calm to tense this quickly. "Any interesting messages on the machine?" 

"Nothing important," she said, shaking off his grip and heading into the bedroom. He blew out a harsh breath and turned off the lights they'd turned on, then walked into their room. 

"What did your mother have to say?" he asked quietly as he stood in the doorway. She was standing at the closet straightening his tuxedo and she instantly stilled. Crossing the room, he silently unzipped her dress for her and watched as she stepped out of it, her movements quick and jerky. "Kathleen?" 

"Sam, we don't have enough time to talk about this. You need sleep, okay? I promise you, after you've caught up on your sleep and you don't have to be back to work in less than six hours we will talk about the numerous phone calls I've had with my mother today. Can...can we just not do this tonight?" 

"Sunday." 

"Huh?" she looked in the mirror at him as he sat down on the end of the bed. 

"Leo promised me Sunday off, which means I'll get at least half the day. Sunday we will sit down and set a date for the wedding. Then you can tell your mother and she'll be happy and stop hounding you about it. You'll be able to stop making excuses for my busy schedule and she can stop calling you at work." 

She closed her eyes and her shoulders shook slightly. He stood even though every muscle in his body was screaming at him to just stay where he was, lie down and fall asleep, and walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. She turned in his embrace and buried her face in the crook of his neck. He let out a breath and slowly rubbed her back. "Come on. We're both tired. I know you don't sleep as well when I'm not here. Let's see if five solid hours of sleep doesn't make it all look different in the morning." 

"Okay," she sniffled into his shoulder. "I'm sorry." 

"Ahh, this is nothing," he laughed as he steered them to bed. "I haven't had to pull you back from a nutty yet. I figure I owe you after your help earlier this year." 

"It's not about owing," she yawned as she pulled the covers over them. 

"You're right," he agreed as he turned off the light and pulled her to his side. "But I promise, this Sunday we'll set the date." 


	2. Candidate Seaborn 2

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

She smiled when the apartment intercom buzzed; food was here. "Yes?" 

_"Mr. Wong's delivery."_

"Come on up." She was starving and she was definitely ready to take a break from her work. With Sam off to North Carolina for the debate prep, she had the apartment to herself. Mr. Glass was continuing his sudden, obviously politically motivated, interest in her and had pulled her into a big case. Second chair to a senior partner in the firm. 

It was a huge break in her career and she was certainly smart enough to take it. It wasn't that she had started her job with the goal of becoming the youngest partner ever, but she did have ambitions. She gave her best to every client and case, the partner in charge of her division gave her great reviews and trusted her with some high profile clients. So she knew she was a good lawyer, yet she still chaffed a bit at the newfound attention. 

While Mr. Glass was looking to get political mileage out of this new business arrangement, she was going to step it up and dazzle him. She'd prove that she was more than up to the challenge of the case, she was bright and certainly worth the attention because of her merits, not just who she was marrying. So she was going to use this weekend for some intensive prep and research time. 

Opening the door, she smiled at the delivery boy. "Thanks, Ryan. Here you go." 

He looked at the tip and smiled in return. "Thanks, Ms. Donovan. Have a good afternoon." 

Groaning when her phone started to ring again, she debated ignoring it, but just couldn't. "Hello." 

_"Hey, sweetie."_

She smiled and grabbed her food as she walked over to the couch. "Sam. How's it going?" 

_"Okay so far. We got a little break so I just wanted to call. How's the case prep going?"_

"Alright. I actually was just taking a break so I could eat. Mr. Glass sent over a couple of paralegals with more files, but so far I haven't been called in. I really don't want to go into the office, I've seen quite enough of it." 

_"Well, I've got something to cheer you up and distract you. Toby wants to get back together with Andi."_

Smiling, she spoke around a piece of curried chicken. "Really? Wow, that's...what's Andi's feeling on that?" 

_"She's putting him off," he admitted. "But I think we're working on a plan."_

Of course they were working on a plan. At least they were in a contained area and it hopefully wouldn't spiral too out of control. "Good luck with that, but try not to offend your boss." 

_"I think it's Andi we have to worry about," he laughed. She heard a muffled shout in the background, but could tell it was Josh's voice. "Sorry, Kathleen, I gotta go. I'll call again when I can. Love you."_

"Love you too," she told him, then hit the off button for the telephone. She put her feet up on the coffee table, pulled a file onto the couch, and finished eating while she read through it. 

Setting the empty carton on the table, she wiped her fingers on her jeans before grabbing her notes. She was just starting to make sense of some odd clauses when a brisk knock sounded on the door. Scowling she looked over at it, she really didn't have the patience for one of her neighbors today. Especially if it was the couple who thought they could get free legal advice though _casual conversation._

As she glanced through the peephole she bit her lip to not scream in frustration. Opening the door she saw her mother standing in the hallway, holding several large pamphlet and books. "Mom. What...what are you doing here?" 

She breezed her way into the apartment, not catching Kathleen's scowl and turned, smiling brightly. "Well, I was out, getting some samples and brochures, and I thought I'd just drop by." 

"Mom," she sighed as she closed the door and leaned against it. "I _told_ you I was busy this weekend and I couldn't go sampling caterers. I've been asked by a senior partner to help on a very big case. I don't have time to look at whatever you found right now. If you leave them, I'll go through them with Sam when we have a chance." 

"Oh, honestly, Kathleen," her mother tsked. "You may have set a date, but there is still so much to do. Haven't you looked at the planner I gave you? We have to make some decisions _now_ or we may not get what we want." 

"One week won't matter in a reception place or finding an available caterer. I can't do it this weekend. Mr. Glass is expecting to meet with me in two days and I intend to show him there's more to me than merely being the fiancée of a White House Senior Staffer. Why do you insist on ignoring me?" 

"Kathleen, I'm merely trying to help. I know you're busy, but surely you can spare a few minutes to look over these few things I brought by." 

Kathleen folded her arms over her chest. Her mother sure knew what buttons to push, but she wasn't doing this tonight. Her mother's _twenty minutes of help_ would turn into hours of Sylvia Donovan trying to create a wedding to make the _Post's_ Lifestyle columnist weep and give her the wedding she dreamed she could have had if she hadn't run down to the Justice of the Peace before her father deployed. 

"Leave them on the table, Mother, and Sam and I will go through them next weekend. But I have to work today." 

"Fine, fine," she said, her lips thinning. "I get it. Fine, I'll just leave these here, and when you have the time just give me a call." 

Rolling her eyes, Kathleen sighed. "Yes, Mother, I'm a horrible daughter who doesn't appreciate all you do. Any other ways I'm a disgrace?" 

All she got in reply was the door being shut forcefully. She'd call later, be sufficiently apologetic, and her mother would get over her snit. If her mother was angry at her for the rest of the weekend then she wouldn't be calling or stopping by, and that was the more important thing right now. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Slipping the key in the lock, Sam turned it quietly. It was late and in case Kathleen was sleeping he didn't want to wake her. When he saw all the lights blazing and heard her rapid typing on her laptop he realized he shouldn't have bothered. 

He stepped into the living room, setting his bags down by the hallway and just observed for a moment. Books, files, and notes were spread all over the couch, tables, chairs and floor. Kathleen was dressed in an old pair of jeans and a faded Van Halen concert t-shirt while her hair was up in a messy twist that was collecting pens and pencils. She had never looked more beautiful or welcoming after being gone. 

"Hey, I'm home." His voice was soft so as to not startle her, but she still jumped slightly. 

Smiling as she stood and navigated the piles on the floor she wrapped her arms around him. "You're home. Welcome back." 

As he pulled away from her kiss he brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "I like these homecomings." 

"Sorry about the mess, though. I'm almost done and then I can clean it up." 

"No problem," he told her. "I'm gonna go unpack and take a shower. You finish up and maybe we can go out for dinner?" 

Grimacing she asked, "Could we eat in? I'm afraid I don't feel like getting dressed up and I'm exhausted, babe." 

"Sure," he nodded. "You go ahead and finish and I'll figure out dinner after my shower." 

"Sounds great," she said, her shoulders drooping with fatigue. He gave her a quick kiss then grabbed his suitcase and headed to their room. 

As he walked into the bedroom he saw it was the only clean room in the apartment. He wondered how much sleep she'd gotten with all the work she'd been doing. Kathleen was determined to prove to Mr. Glass that she was more than just a political opportunity. So between her case and his work on the campaign and the debate, time alone together, and decent sleep was becoming a rare commodity. 

When he came out a little bit later, his hair still damp from the shower, Kathleen was going around the apartment methodically gathering up her files and boxing them up. "Finished or just give up?" he laughed as she caught sight of him. 

"Finished," she exhaled. "If I'm not prepared, it won't be from lack of effort. How'd the debate prep go?" 

"We did all we could. I think he's ready. But we'll find out in San Diego." 

She placed the last of the files in the box on the desk and put the lid on. "Come on," he wrapped his arm around her and steered her towards the couch. "Sit down and relax. You want to pick a movie to watch?" 

"Maybe, first I want to see what's on The History Channel." 

He laughed and headed into the kitchen. She had a slight love of history, as evidenced by her minor in college, the history books that lined the bookshelves, and the fact that she sometimes watched more of The History Channel than CNN. When he opened the refrigerator to see what they had on hand, he frowned at the leaflets and brochures sitting on top of the egg container. 

"Kathleen?" He pulled them out and walked to the doorway. "Why are there caterer pamphlets in the refrigerator?" 

"I put them there." She slumped down on the couch and closed her eyes. "My mother stopped by." 

"I figured as much," he said as he dropped them on the counter beside him and reached for the take out menus. They needed to go shopping, and most of all she needed to talk to him, not the back of his head while he tried to fix something for them to eat. "What'd she say?" 

Hitting the mute button she threw the remote on the coffee table. "Oh, the usual. If we want a nice place to have the reception or a good caterer we need to book them early. We don't have to pick out the full menu yet, but we need to at least lock them into a contract." 

She reached over and helped him shift through the menus, pulling out the one for the Mexican restaurant two blocks away. "Of course," she sighed, "what I think she's secretly hoping is that we'll decide to have the wedding and or reception at the White House. I'm surprised she hasn't mentioned it, but she probably doesn't want to be seen as _too_ pushy." 

"You're mother?" he teased. "Never. Chicken enchiladas?" 

"Yeah," she nodded as he picked up the phone. "You know, you haven't had to actually be in the same room yet with my _my-daughter-is-getting-married_ mother. Picking a date didn't seem to calm her down. I think she's actually considering joining a country club so we could have the reception there." 

He set the phone back on the cradle; their order placed, and sat down beside her. He knew he had to get her thinking about something else or she'd go off on a tear again about how she wanted to change their phone number just so she could have a day or so rest form her mother. "So, we didn't do so well on Team Toby." 

"Andi not really eager to get back together with Toby? Why? He's such a teddy bear," she chuckled. "I don't really know her, but clearly there were some issues there since they got divorced. Maybe you guys should take a step back and let them just work things out. I know I'd be less than thrilled if your friends suddenly butted into our lives." 

"She's pregnant," he informed her. "With twins." 

"Are you serious?" 

Smiling, he nodded. "Yep. He's keeping it pretty subdued, but it's clear he's thrilled. So now he's trying to get her to agree to marry him." 

She was quiet for a minute, then said, "Well, for their sakes personally, I hope they work it out. Professionally, I hope they do so Toby can get C.J. off his back." 

"C.J.'s happy for them. We all are," he frowned, turning to face her. 

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them too. But none of you thought about how this is going to play out? A member of the President's Senior Staff got his ex-wife, who happens to be a United States Congresswoman, pregnant and they're not married. Did nobody think that Mary Marsh or Reverend Caulfield might just blast the administration on this? Or how they'd get all over our situation?" 

"Wait, what? _Our_ situation?" Yeah, there had been a few rumblings and whisperings where they wondered what the Republicans and the Christian Right might say about Andi's pregnancy, but they hadn't talked that much about it. But how did their engagement play into that?" "We're engaged." 

"Yeah, and we're living together." 

"Which hundreds, no thousands, of couples do all the time." 

"Yeah, but you're high profile. You're the President's men, and the two of you just gave Mary Marsh and her group more ammunition than Josh ever did. Since Andi and Toby were once married, they may not cause as big a stir. Even if they do, don't you also think that since they're blasting the _immoral_ actions of one White House worker they might decide to also go after the staffer living in sin?" 


	3. Candidate Seaborn 3

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"We may have a problem." 

Josh looked up from the notes Donna had put together, and saw Sam standing in the doorway of his office. He tried to remember what Sam was working on at the moment and what could have cropped up. "With the thing?" 

Shaking his head, Sam closed the door and sat down in a chair. "No, the thing's fine. I meant personal matters." 

Josh sat up straighter. "You and Kathleen are having problems?" 

Again Sam shook his head. "No. But when I told her about Toby and Andi, she pointed out something I hadn't thought too much about. Mary Marsh has been rather quiet lately." 

He grimaced at the mere mention of Mary's name. "She has. What's Kathleen thinking?" 

"That when the news about Toby and Andi comes out there's no way Mary will stay quiet. And since Kathleen and I are engaged-" 

"But living together, she could go after you two just as much as Toby and Andi," Josh surmised and finished his friend's thought. 

"Possibly even more so," Sam nodded, "because Toby and Andi were once married, and do you really think Caulfield will let her get too rabid against a member of Congress who just so happens to be pregnant? Andi's constituents would get up in arms." 

"Right," he sighed. "Where as you aren't elected, Kathleen's a lawyer in a prestigious D.C. firm, Mary might think they don't want their name and reputation dragged through the mud. She knows the President will stand behind you, but maybe the partners in Kathleen's firm won't. Hang on a sec." 

He picked up his phone and dialed C.J.'s extension. "Hey, it's me. Do you have a few minutes to come down to my office?" 

"You didn't call Toby did you?" Sam questioned. "I don't want to worry him about this yet. He's trying hard enough to get Andi to marry him." 

"No, I didn't," he said, and then sighed. "But we may have to." 

"Hey, Josh, what's up?" C.J. asked as she walked in. She saw Sam sitting there and frowned slightly. "Sam, what's going on?" 

Josh explained what they'd been talking about. How Kathleen had brought up Mary Marsh after hearing about Andi's pregnancy and how he and Sam had talked it through to the possibility that she'd come after Sam and Kathleen and how that could cause big problems for Kathleen at work. By the time he was finished; C.J. was sitting in his other visitor's chair and rubbing her hand over her forehead. 

"Well, maybe she won't make a big deal over this." 

C.J. snorted at him. "When have you known this administration to get a pass from the conservatives? Maybe _she_ won't say something, but there are still the Republican radio pundits. Surely _someone_ might just take a swipe at two Senior Staff member's personal lives. And since Sam has the whole Laurie incident in his past..." 

"Thanks," his friend groused as he slid down in his seat. 

"Yeah, he is a bit of an easier, and not quite as politically sensitive, a target as say a single mother," C.J. said. "Although I wouldn't consider Andi completely off topic for some people. She is a high profile person, some of the members in her district, especially those who didn't vote for her, might consider the pregnancy a bad example for their teenage daughters." 

"They might, but she's got P.R. people for that. We're worried about the questions _you_ might get when word gets out about Andi." 

"Kathleen suggested we move the wedding up," Sam interjected. "Said maybe do it after the election, especially if we win. We'll have a short time off, but that way we don't lose the White House's honeymoon period. If we're defeated...this is all moot." 

"She probably actually said moot, didn't she?" Josh laughed. "Two lawyers married...oh boy." 

"Joshua," C.J.'s voice was heavy with warning to knock off the joke and keep on track. 

"Sorry. Go on, Sam." 

"Yeah. If we lose, we don't have to worry. If we win, Andi's pregnancy will be more noticeable, people-" 

"You mean the press," C.J. cut in. 

"Right. The press could really start cranking on this. So we have a small ceremony, we hopefully deflect, or at least diffuse, some of the biggest criticisms." 

"And Kathleen's mother goes ballistic," Josh added, knowing Sylvia Donovan had been on Kathleen and Sam for wedding details. 

"Actually, Kathleen doesn't care so much about that," Sam smiled wryly. "Thwarting all the long, drawn out plans actually looks pretty good to her right now." 

"Well, before you two change your plans," C.J. cautioned, "let's see if there's a need. Let's maybe talk with Leo and Toby; just see what we start to hear. Should it _not_ matter? Absolutely." 

"But it does," Sam said on a sigh. "That's why I wanted to bring it up now so we weren't suddenly scrambling." 

"Alright. Well, Reuters has been hounding Carol for some reason or another, so I should go find out what's got their reporter all worked up." She stood and smoothed her skirt. "We'll see how fast word about Andi gets out and what the reaction is. For now, Sam, don't worry too much." 

"Okay. Bye, C.J." 

When she left Josh turned to Sam. "We'll see what comes up. But, thanks for bringing it up...and feeling like you could talk to me about it." 

"I didn't want to freak Toby out even more than he is," Sam shrugged. 

"Yeah, but you could have gone straight to C.J. I know we're doing better-" 

"We are," his friend cut in. "I know I scared you earlier this year and I went off on you, but we're okay. We're friends." 

"You're not just pushing it all down and acting like nothing's wrong?" Josh pressed. 

"I'm not," he assured him. "We're okay." 

"Alright. Okay. I-I gotta get going. I have a meeting with the Undersecretary of Education." 

"'Kay. I gotta get back to work on the speech or Toby'll go ballistic." 

He left, leaving the door open and Josh let out a breath as he picked up his backpack. Things were good, but it wasn't going to stop him from checking periodically with Sam just to make sure. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Walking back into his office, Sam saw Toby was still working, his head down as he typed furiously. Hopefully his boss wouldn't come over to question him where he'd been; he didn't want to be the one to bring up the potential political firestorm he and Toby may have created. It probably was too much to hope that this wouldn't turn into something, and the only thing they could do was be prepared. 

What made him mad about this whole situation was the thought that Mary Marsh or people of her ilk could cause problems for Kathleen. The Lambs of God hadn't hesitated for a second in sending a bloodied Raggedy Ann doll to the President's twelve-year-old granddaughter; there would, unfortunately, be someone who might think the way to deal with a woman _living in sin_ would be to cause problems at work. Some people still were stuck in the 1950's. 

Kathleen had always worked hard, she was well known in her circles. When they began dating she didn't care about the buzz that came from people wondering who Sam Seaborn's new girl was. She handled them with the same grace she had handled his co-workers when he suddenly took off. Outwardly it didn't ruffle her or seem to phase her, inwardly she was bothered by people digging into her past and bringing up Laurie from his. 

Despite all that she stayed with him, loved him and agreed to marry him. Then the buzz began anew. She was a contender, someone who hadn't been put off by the Washington political scene. People wondered if the wedding would actually take place, and how long it would last. It all seemed to roll off her back, but it bothered her just as much as it did him. In spite of nearly four years of being in a fishbowl of sorts, he still hated the intrusions into his private life. 

He hoped that Mr. Glass proved to be better than someone just wanting to make political hay from her engagement. Hopefully he would see what others had, that Kathleen was bright and competent, and not play into Mary Marsh's hands. Because Sam knew it would hurt her if her job was in jeopardy or she had Mr. Glass's favor suddenly taken away. 

But he couldn't spend all day worrying about something that _may_ happen in the future. They were watching out for it, they'd deal with it. Picking up his glasses, he slipped them on and went through the papers on his desk. He needed to get back to work on the talking points regarding Labor and Immigrant Workers, then check in with Toby. 

He paused when he saw the phone message his assistant, Beth, had taken regarding Will Bailey. "Won't this guy just let it go?" 

The candidate in the California 47th had died, and the overeager campaign manager was still going on with the campaign. Sam was getting calls occasionally because he'd had a little detour into Noble, but Lost, Causes Land when he said they should be running better candidates. Why should they just so willingly hand over certain districts to the Republicans? But now the Democrats were looking like fools; running a dead man in a campaign. 

He stood and grabbed the message and walked next door to Toby's office, surprised to see Leo there. "Hey." 

"Hey, Sam," Leo nodded. "How are the talking points for the debate going?" 

"Almost done," he fudged just a bit. "I got a call about the California 47th. The head of the California Democrats is worried about all the publicity the party's getting by running a dead guy." 

"That Bailey nut's still doing that?" Toby groused as he looked up from his papers. 

"He wants to hold a press rally." 

"With no candidate to show? Is he nuts?" 

"I don't know," he told Leo, "but we're being asked to maybe say something to the guy." 

"The White House really shouldn't tell people to drop out of races," he replied cautiously. 

"The President is the head of the party, why shouldn't we say something?" Toby challenged. He paused and shook his head, "Why am I even bothering with this? I have one campaign to worry about already." 

"Look," Sam cut in. "I just wanted to bring it to your attention. The debate's in California. Do we want to spend our time out there with the focus on our campaign and our message, or do we want to have to field knuckleheaded questions about the party running a dead man?" 

"He's right," Toby nodded. "We could lose the window for our message." 

"What do you suggest we do? Call the guy up and tell him he's embarrassing us so he should stop?" 

Sam shook his head at Leo's question. "Let me talk to him. I'll...I'll fly out early before the rest of you, give him some face time, tell him we appreciate his efforts, but he should probably just give up. I'm Senior Staff, but it's not as though you or Josh are barreling in there and ordering him to stop." 

"A little less Gestapo-like is good," Leo cracked a smile. "That's sounds good. Then you'll come down for the debate." 

"Exactly," he nodded. "Plenty of time to take care of everything." 

"Good," Toby cut in with a grumble. "Now that we've dealt with the California nut, can we get back to _our_ campaign? How soon 'til I can see a draft of your notes, Sam?" 

"Twenty minutes," he answered as he headed out the door. He called Beth into his office, told her to call the California head back, and let them know he'd stop in to see Bailey when they came out for the debate and told her to get him a flight reservation out there. 

That done, he set to work on condensing an hour of typing into thirty minutes. 


	4. Candidate Seaborn 4

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

He hated red-eye flights, especially on commercial flights. Late night flights on Air Force One were so much more tolerable. Since he had to go back to Los Angeles to return the rental car, he couldn't ride back with the others, but Leo had given him most of the morning off to catch up on some sleep. He was sure that offer would fall apart and he would be called in, so he tried to get some sleep on the plane. He didn't get much, but he was hoping it would help. 

When the cab pulled up in front of the apartment building he smiled tiredly. He hated all this traveling they had to do for re-election. He missed seeing Kathleen for more than just a couple of hours over a couple of days. 

He was surprised when he got off the elevator and walked down the hall that the paper wasn't outside their door. It was early enough that it should have been there. So either someone swiped their paper, or Kathleen was up and had brought it in already. 

When he slipped the key in the lock, he stumbled slightly when the door swung open before he could touch it. "Kathleen." 

She was almost completely ready to go to work and he frowned as he looked down at his watch. "You leaving already?" 

"Mr. Glass wanted to meet early this morning," she said tersely. 

"How's the trial going?" It had started the day he left and he hadn't had a chance to talk to her about it. 

"Trial's fine." 

He set his suitcase down and turned to face her and her short answers. "What's wrong, Kathleen?" 

"You mean other than my mother _still_ on my case, me in the middle of the biggest case of my career, or the fact that Mary Marsh and friends seem to have fired the first shot across the bow?" 

"What?" he asked, catching the paper she flung at him. He looked down at the newspaper, folded back to the editorial section. 

A guest opinion column from one of their milder conservative - was there really such a thing? - opponents. It was fairly benign on the surface, criticizing the White House for their opposition on a school voucher initiative and how the administration wasn't helping families get the best education for their children. Then came two paragraphs about the disintegration of family values and how the President wasn't doing anything to protect the sanctity of the family. _But what do we expect from a President who has key staffers in his administration whose own personal lives are an affront to the sacredness of marriage and family?_

He looked up from the paper slowly. Kathleen was fumbling in agitation with the clasp on her necklace and pointedly ignoring him. Setting the paper down, he stepped behind her to help fasten it, then rested his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them gently. 

"It's just one comment. It doesn't mention Toby or me. We can head this off before it becomes a thing." 

She turned and arched her brow in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? If _he_ made the comment, obviously he'll have more to say or someone else will. There are people at Fox News who will jump all over this. How can you say you can head it off? You didn't even think anyone would say anything to begin with." 

"Why are you getting so worked up over this?" he asked. "C.J. will handle any questions; this won't be anything we can't handle." 

"Well, bully for you," she snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But there are some of us whose lives aren't lived in the political arena. My boss, despite what you may think, happens to be a die-hard conservative from Georgia. If our names come up, he isn't going to stand by me like the President will with you and Toby. Know who one of his favorite opinion columnists is?" 

Sam sighed and held up the paper. Kathleen nodded. "Loves the guy. Now do you see why I'm a little concerned?" 

"I do," he said. And he really did. He didn't want her to have problems at her job because of him. 

"I think we need to talk seriously about moving up the wedding." 

"There might be a problem with that," he said as he turned and sat down at the table. "I think I might have done something really stupid when I was in California." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen blinked and stared at him. He did something stupid? Rubbing her hand over her forehead she tried to stop herself from yelling. How could he say something like that _knowing_ she had to leave soon for a meeting? 

"What exactly did you do?" 

"Mrs. Wilde has been trying to find someone who will commit to running if her husband should win." 

She sat there waiting for more, wondering what that had to do with him and then she groaned. "You didn't." 

"I did," he nodded. "I know that I went out there disdainful of the campaign and to try and get them to stop, but the campaign manager impressed me. He knows people thinks he's a joke, but he doesn't care. He wants to get the message out there." 

"And be the first campaign manager to get a Democrat elected in the California Forty-Seventh, I'm sure." 

He shook his head. "No, I don't think that's his goal. He just wants to run the best campaign he can, and he's not giving up just because people think he should. He's a good guy. So I told him that if Horton Wilde won I'd run in the run-off. Mrs. Wilde was getting the brush-off from everyone and she doesn't deserve that. The Democratic Party didn't support her husband when he was alive, I wasn't going to let it continue." 

She signed as she slumped in her chair. It was so very like Sam to agree to this for the reason of easing Mrs. Wilde's mind. "So you agreed to run if the campaign manager can't find anyone else?" 

He shrugged uncomfortably. "He said he wasn't going to ask anyone else. But really, there's no way this'll be a problem. The reason the DNC doesn't spend a lot of money in this district or waste a good candidate is because it's nearly impossible for a Democrat to win." 

_Nearly impossible._ Just like there was no way Mary Marsh would say anything about Andi's pregnancy or Sam living with Kathleen out of wedlock. Her stomach clenched up at his words and she was tempted to beat her head on the table. Those words were just temping fate and she wanted to scream that at him. 

Maybe she was just over-reacting. She was under a lot of stress because of work, the wedding and her mother. She could just be borrowing trouble by feeling there was a sense of foreboding, and she really didn't need to worry about it. Sam knew politics. He believed it was just a harmless gesture on his part and it would take a miracle for a Democrat - a dead Democrat at that - to win. She'd believe him on this; she had enough going on without going nuts over this. 

"Okay, fine," she said. "You don't think Wilde will win, I can't afford another distraction right now. I've got to go or I'll be late. Hopefully Mr. Glass won't have had time to think about this too much. 

"He likes you," Sam smiled as he stood. "He came to the fundraiser." 

"He got his picture taken with the President and a lawyer in the firm who's engaged to the Deputy Director of Communications. It was great PR for the firm. But the minute I'm no longer a positive asset, he'll go right back to not particularly liking this president, and remembering he has a lot of conservative beliefs." 

Kathleen sighed and tried to let go of her tension as she wrapped her arms around Sam and kissed him. "I'm glad you're home, I really am. And I thought the President did great at the debate, I watched the whole thing. I'm sorry I wasn't much of a jolly welcoming party." 

Shaking his head, he gave her another kiss. "It's okay. I know you're worried. Go meet with Mr. Glass and good luck today in court. I'll see you tonight." 

"Alright. Try to get some sleep," she said, brushing her hand over his cheek and feeling the stubble. "I have no idea how late I'll be." 

Then she grabbed her briefcase and headed out the door hoping she could shake her unease. She needed to be focused on the case today, not the possibility of Sam running for Congress. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam groaned in frustration and threw back the covers. After lying in bed for nearly an hour he realized he wasn't going to get to sleep. Not with thoughts of the op-ed piece, Mary Marsh, Kathleen and her boss, not to mention the reality of his agreement with Will Bailey sinking in all combined to make sleep impossible. 

Sitting up, he ran a hand over his face. Will was a persistent man, but he'd been running into a brick wall lining someone up to run in Wilde's place. So Sam said he'd run, knowing it would never happen. He could tell, though, that Kathleen didn't particularly like the idea. He knew it was sudden, he knew he sprung it on her at a bad time, and he hoped that when she got home and wasn't quite so stressed they could talk. 

He really didn't think California was going to be a problem. If the Christian Right was firing warming shots this early in the game though, things could get very ugly. They'd managed so far not to bring Toby into their talks, the man was trying hard to get Andi to marry him, but if both his and Sam's names were about to become talk show fodder he was going to have to know. 

Picking up the phone he dialed Carol's number and flopped back down on the bed. 

_"C.J. Cregg's office."_

"Carol, it's Sam. Is she available?" 

_There was a brief pause, then C.J.'s voice came on. "Hey, Sam. What's going on?"_

"You see the op-ed in the Post today?" 

_"Morgan Pierce's?" she asked. "Yeah, I saw it. Interesting piece to say the least."_

"Kathleen's worried." 

_"She's a smart woman. She knows her boss, knows better than us what he could be thinking. Does she want to move the wedding up?"_

He sighed. "She mentioned it. I told her there wouldn't be a need for it. Listen, I'm not going to get any sleep so I'm going to come in. We should talk with Toby." 

_"Josh and I thought the same thing. So I guess we'll see you in a bit."_

"Yeah, see you soon." 

He hung up and tossed the phone on the bed. He understood Kathleen's thinking that they should move the wedding up. Eliminating the _living in sin_ part of the equation would take some of the wind out of Mary's sails. 

But Sam didn't want their wedding to be rushed to disarm muckrakers. It would be nearly as bad as rushing to the altar because she was pregnant. Toby's situation was different somewhat. He and Andi had been married once before. Despite all her rantings on how her mother was driving her crazy, he knew Kathleen had a certain vision for how she wanted the day to be. He wanted her to have that day. 

They'd be able to deal with Mary, hopefully Kathleen's boss would have a cool head over the whole situation, and their wedding would go off as planned. He wasn't always around, even less so with re-election going on, and he'd been unable to make certain family or work events with her. But she understood because it was his job and the insanity of the White House wouldn't last forever. The least he could do for her right now was to give her a wedding that was about her and not a rush job to silence criticism. She deserved it, and he was going to do everything he could to make sure she got it. 


	5. Candidate Seaborn 5

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"Hey, Sam," Josh smiled as he stepped into his friend's office. 

Sam looked up from his laptop and slipped off his glasses. "Hey, Josh," he said on a sigh. "What's up?" 

"Taking a brief break before my brain melts," he joked. "I realized I'd been sitting at my desk for nearly five hours straight. I had to get up and stretch my legs. And since Donna's not at her desk I thought I'd grab some lunch. There are times I think she channels Mrs. Landingham because she's been harping on me to eat salads." 

"So if we go eat," Sam lowered the screen of his laptop and stood, "and you get a burger you can somehow blame the whole thing on me, right? That's okay, I'll take the wrath of Donna. I'm already dealing with one pissed off woman." 

Josh paused briefly in the doorway. "Kathleen? What's going on?" 

"Mary Marsh and Mister Glass," he scowled. 

Josh frowned as they walked towards the stairs that led to the basement. It has started out small, but the op-ed piece by Morgan Pierce hadn't been the only comment regarding the administration's lack of family values. People were starting to find out the truth surrounding Andi's pregnancy, and Toby was growling about the invasion of privacy in addition to things needing to be done for the election. 

Sam and Kathleen's names were coming up, but not as frequently as they originally feared. But when a reporter from The Post called Kathleen's boss and wondered what his thoughts were regarding the situation, that's when things got bad in the Seaborn-Donovan household. Outwardly Richard Glass sang Kathleen's praises and said her private life had no bearing on how she did her job. Off the record he was not at all pleased with the questions or the implications of Mary Marsh's charges. 

Once very excited about the prospect of one of the lawyers in the firm where he was managing partner marrying a person of prominence in the White House, he now was pulling back his patronage. Claiming the case they were working on was so big and seemed to be growing in workload, he brought another lawyer in to help. Kathleen was bumped from her second chair position due to seniority reasons, and given more research-oriented tasks. 

The man was a shrewd lawyer, and nothing he did could be overtly considered discrimination. But it was clear Kathleen wasn't quite the shining light she'd once been. Kathleen had figured it was coming, but was still saddened, and angered, when it happened. It bothered Sam, as Josh remembered his friend ranting and raving and very nearly emptying the mini-bar in his room on their campaign stop, but he was so busy with the election that he just wasn't home very much. 

"Something new happened, didn't it?" 

"Fox News. Hannity and Colmes did a piece last night." 

Josh winced. They'd been coming back from a day trip to St. Louis last night. They simply couldn't keep up with every political commentator, especially when they were away from Washington. Josh didn't particularly care for Hannity and Colmes, and especially Fox News, so it wasn't a surprise that he hadn't heard about it. He could only imagine that today was going to be a headache for Kathleen. 

"You know, you two should have just slipped off to Las Vegas," he chuckled as they walked into the cafeteria. 

"Then we would have looked like we were running scared," Sam shook his head. "Besides, she deserves more than a cheap, quicky wedding." 

"Of course," he nodded. "And you love her, so you want her to have it. But she is the one who suggested it; you're not forcing it on her. And she is the one getting raked over the coals." 

His friend looked up at the ceiling. "I know. But the election is over in two days. This may be all over then...or just starting again." 

Josh tilted his head as his brows lowered in question. He started to ask what Sam meant, because it seemed to be something more than just re-election, but his pager went off and when he saw the text message he knew this conversation would have to wait. Donna was paging him for a phone call and he had to get back to work. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Two days later, Sam sat in his office trying to get through some notes. The bullpen was abuzz with activity, and nerves about the election as the day wore on. It was almost nine o'clock, and the excitement was growing as key states were called for President Bartlet. 

He, however, was focusing on the race in California. It still seemed so unlikely that Wilde would win, but he knew better than to count on that. Anything could shift, anything could happen, and Will Bailey could pull off a miracle. It was hard to find information, sometimes, and he didn't want to arouse suspicions too much by asking too frequently about the contest. 

The good and the bad of it now, was it was almost six in California, and the race was garnering national attention. Exit polls and early returns were showing Wilde was running closer to his opponent than anyone thought he would be. He looked up, his eyes wandering over the people in the bullpen. He wondered if he should tell Toby or Josh that there was a possibility he'd be in a run-off election in California. 

Long before the President told him he would be president some day, he'd toyed with the notion of entering politics at some point. Being brought into the campaign, working alongside Toby and Leo, watching Governor Bartlet become president...it seemed to seep into his bones, plant a seed that was just beginning to open. As he thought about what would happen if Wilde _did_ win and he had to put together a campaign, the more he began to seriously plan out what his positions would be. He _liked_ giving freedom to his own thoughts, not reigning himself back to give voice to someone else's position. 

He knew that whenever he was done serving at the pleasure of the President he would definitely have to mount his own campaign. He'd need to talk to Josh, Toby and Leo to get their advice, gain from the benefit of their experience and start building a campaign war chest. The big decision to make would be to run for state office or Congress. 

But all of those talks, all of those decisions could be put off until they knew what the outcome of President Bartlet's election was. If he lost, they'd finish out the term, Sam would broach the subject with his friends and say they'd talk more once he got back from his honeymoon and everyone had recuperated from their four years in the White House. If the president won, then after inauguration, State of the Union and his wedding, then he'd bring up the subject. They'd have four years then to start strategizing. 

He had all the time in the world. Or so he thought. Now as he watched the talking heads babble on about the election out in California, his stomach began to knot up. Not in a bad, my-medication-isn't-working way, but in that first date will-she-let-me-kiss-her way. Wilde could win this election from the grave an then everything he'd been thinking and planning would go right out the window. 

Eyeing his phone he wondered if he should call Will Bailey. But the other man would probably be elated and figuring out what he could do in the next hour to ensure a victory. He wouldn't understand Sam's sudden fear that Wilde actually might win, and would probably think Sam was calling to back out of the agreement. That wouldn't be the case at all; he'd given his word and he would honor it. Even if the thought that it could really happen was scaring him. 

He thought about calling Kathleen, but discarded it. Things had been tense the last several days, and if she was watching the news she wouldn't be very amicable to talk right now. A twist was possibly about to enter their wedding plans, and after her mother had been after her the past week to look at dresses and then finding out her sister-in-law was pregnant, she even more highly strung than usual. It was expected of her that Kathleen would incorporate her brother's wives into the wedding party since she'd been a part of theirs and her mother was going into a tailspin, and dragging Kathleen into it, over the prospect of having to find a dress style that could accommodate the pregnancy. It was times like this he gave a little more serious thought to the notion of eloping and wondered why he hadn't done so earlier. 

And none of that even touched on the stress of the trial or Mr. Glass that she was dealing with at work. So actually, he decided, it would probably be for the best if he didn't call her. He'd wait until he knew for certain. There was no sense calling her up to have the same conversation they'd been having for the past week. 

"Hey, Sam." 

He looked up to find Josh standing in the doorway grinning. "Hey." 

"Why're you sitting in here in the dark, man? Come on out with us," he jerked his head over his shoulder. "Nobody's getting any real work done right now, might as well come join us." 

"In a minute," he agreed wearily as he rubbed his tired eyes. 

Josh stepped fully into the office and pushed the door closed behind him. "Everything okay?" 

He looked at his friend, paused for a moment and almost told him about his agreement with Bailey, but instead just nodded. "Yeah." 

"You sure?" 

No. No, he wasn't. But now probably wasn't the time. "Yeah," he forced a smile. "I'll tell you about it later." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen sat on the couch, the room dark except for the glow of the TV. The sound was muted, and it was kinda amusing to watch the anchor's over-animated features and gestures without the accompanying sound. The presidential race had been called for President Bartlet. Everyone was talking about that and policies the president might propose for his second term, but she didn't care about any of it. 

Because the race she'd been most interested in had been called, and not how she'd wanted it. Will Bailey had pulled off a miracle and got a Democrat elected to the California 47th. And he announced that Sam had agreed to be the candidate in the run-off election. 

Hours after she had sat waiting to hear something from Sam, she finally called his office. His assistant told her Sam had gone with several others up to the Residence. Beth said she'd have him call her when he got back, but Kathleen told her not to bother. She'd just talk to him whenever he got home. 

That was over an hour ago and Sam still wasn't to be seen. Shutting off the TV, she switched on a small lamp and stood up from the couch. She walked over to the desk where they had all of the pamphlets, brochures, lists and plans for their wedding and gathered them all together. Pulling out the box under the desk, she put all of the papers inside and dropped it unceremoniously to the floor. 

Sam would be going to California. He would be throwing everything he had into winning that race because she knew that even though he hadn't said very much about it, he certainly _was_ interested in running for a political office. Being on opposite sides of the country while she worked and he directed his campaign wasn't going to work for making plans. And she just didn't feel like seeing all the crap her mother had constantly dropped off for them when her fiancé would be gone. 

She was sure that at some point she'd have to tell her mother that most likely the wedding was postponed. There would be the campaign, and then who knew what after that. Somehow, she just had a feeling that their wedding wouldn't be going off as scheduled. If it even happened at all. 


	6. Candidate Seaborn 6

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"Sam? Hey...Sam!" 

He sat up with a start and wiped at his eyes, blinking as he saw Leo standing in the doorway to his office. Leo walked in, draping his coat over a chair and set his briefcase down. He tipped his head to the side and questioned, "Did you sleep here last night?" 

Sam looked at the clock and shook his head, surprised at what time it was. "Yeah...I guess I did." 

Leo sat down, frowning slightly. "You okay?" 

"Aside from a crick in my neck? Yeah, I am. Or...I will be," he amended at Leo's look. "I just came back here to write some stuff down and I guess I fell asleep." 

Leo sat back and smiled, his eyes brightening with a bit of mirth. "That was quite the surprise last night, Sam." 

Feeling a bit chagrined, despite Leo's assuring smile, he shrugged. "I was a bit...fearful to say anything. It just came out when I was talking to Will Bailey, but I never thought it would happen. I mean, I finally understood what you and everyone else was saying about why we didn't put a lot of money or our best candidates in certain districts. How could a Democrat, and a dead one at that, win in that district? It wasn't going to happen." 

He leaned back and rested his arms on the chair's armrests. "But I realized that part of why I made the offer is because I want to run for office." 

"I could have told you that," Leo smiled. "You have strong ideas of your own, and you love working the President, but you don't always agree with him and it frustrates you sometimes. You were always going to run for office, even if you hadn't realized it yet." 

"Well I finally did," he nodded. "But I never thought it would happen now. I figured once the election was over, and if the President won, then after inauguration and State of the Union, and my wedding... _then_ I'd sit down with you, Josh and Toby and we'd start talking." 

"So your timetable got moved up. Caught you off guard a bit." 

"Yeah," he sighed. "I gotta get my stuff squared away and get out to California by the end of the week. I...I feel like I'm bailing at a bad time." 

Leo waved his hand through the air. "Don't. You've been a great part of this team, Sam, but nobody works for an administration for the whole four or eight years. You say you're going to, but things come up, they change and you sometimes go in a new direction. This is your opportunity. You have to go and make the best of this. Give it everything you've got or I'll kick your butt from here to Greenland." 

Sam laughed, "That's what the President said last night. Said to not run on your platform and think I have to support everything he does." 

"You better not," Leo warned. "You are your own man, and this is _your_ campaign. And we're going to help you out. I'm calling in some favors with some people in the leadership in California. You've got a chance, Sam, and I know you can win. Is Kathleen going to go to California with you?" 

He winced and slid down in his seat. After the results came in and his friends realized the reality of the situation, he'd gotten pulled into C.J.'s office where they talked for a while before heading up to the residence to talk to the President. He didn't want to talk to Kathleen over the phone; he decided he'd just talk to her when he got home. Instead he ended up falling asleep. 

"I haven't talked to her yet," he admitted. "I fell asleep before I could go home." 

Leo shrugged and raised his eyebrows. "You _are_ planning on talking to her though, right?" 

"Of course." 

"Then call her," he instructed. 

Sam shook his head. "She's already at work. The case is going on and her boss is giving her all sorts of grief over all the comments people about making about living with me and how I work for a morally bankrupt White House. I can't call her right now, I'll talk to her when I get home." 

"That'd be good," he chuckled somewhat sadly. "Your campaign guys are going to want her there for pictures and fundraises, meetings with business and community leaders. They're going to want to see her, see the two of you together, and not hear about a fiancée who's too busy working back in Washington to come stand by your side during the campaign." 

He made a face as he thought about the implications of Leo's words. "She's not a Barbie doll, Leo. She's got a job, she's good at it, most of all she _likes_ it. Should I tell her to give that all up so she can come be a trophy on my arm?" 

"I'm not saying that, Sam, and you know it. But you also know how important appearances are, and you know what we faced on the first campaign with Abbey. No one's telling Kathleen she has to start dressing like June Cleaver or make cookies like she's Betty Crocker, but her image affects you and I'm just trying to point that out to you." 

He let out a slow, beleaguered breath and nodded his head. "Yeah, I know. I just feel like she's already given up stuff, gone through so much garbage in the press because of me, I hate having to tell her I need her by my side in California for photo-ops." 

"It's part of being the spouse of a politician, and she should know that or learn it real soon. But as for needing her by your side for photo-ops?" he asked and paused, then finally said, "why don't you tell her you want her there because you love her and you're a team and she's part of this as well." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen stepped off the elevator and eyed the door of her apartment warily. When she woke up that morning and discovered that Sam wasn't home, her heart sunk and her stomach twisted. It wasn't unusual for Sam to pull an all nighter, or sometimes fall asleep at the office, but for it to happen last night disheartened her. 

As she got ready for bed last night and Sam didn't arrive home and the phone remained silent, she warred with herself. Should she call him, or not? Would it seem like she didn't trust him, that she was calling to check up on him, or worse, spoiling for a fight? She told herself not to worry, and not to get upset, but as she left the house that morning she couldn't help feeling both. 

It didn't help that when she got to work for the morning meeting with Mr. Glass and Morgan Ewell, both men were full of questions to which she didn't have answers. She was embarrassed to admit to them that her fiancé hadn't spoken to her since Will Bailey made his announcement. 

She bluffed her way through the questions of whether she would be leaving to go with Sam or staying to work on the case by saying Sam understood how committed she was to her job and to giving her all to this case. She said Sam would have to talk with the campaign manager and his bosses at the White House to figure out when he'd be leaving. Of course, that was the cover up the fact that she had no idea if he'd already done that or what he'd want from her. 

Would he want her out there in California? How much could she really contribute to the campaign besides a smile? She didn't know anything about running a campaign, and it was unlikely she'd be able to do any real work for the firm. Was she supposed to just sit in a hotel room and read until she was needed to appear by his side? 

Her head throbbed with a dull ache and all she wanted to do was get inside her home and take a long, hot bath. She knew it was bad of her to think so, but a part of her hoped Sam wasn't home. She wanted time to unwind, decompress without him there so she could be ready to face him when he _did_ arrive. Right now she was so frazzled, even angered, that she feared she would say something harsh and unintentional to him, and she didn't want to do that. 

Slipping her key into the lock, she turned it and groaned softly when she heard the news coming from the living room. Sam was home, and she could feel her shoulders tensing. "Sam?" 

The TV was switched off and Sam smiled as he came around the corner and walked towards her. He was freshly showered, even though he looked a little tired still. "Hey there." 

"Hey," she mustered up a half smile. 

"Rough day?" he asked as he took her briefcase and coat. "Come on." 

"What?" she puzzled as he led her down the hall towards their bedroom, smiling mysteriously as he walked backwards in front of her. She was trying not to feel annoyed, but right now she didn't want cute, little surprises from him. 

When Sam opened the door, she saw that the lights were low and her lavender candle was burning on the dresser. "Look," he said, "I know you've gotta be a little mad I didn't call or come home last night, and I'm sorry about that. So I thought I'd try to make it up to you. How about I get a bath ready for you and then I'll go fix dinner while you take some time to relax?" 

She sat down on the bed; feeling a bit embarrassed at the tears that stung her eyes. She was all ready to feel angry and resentful, and here Sam recognized that she would most likely be tense from having another bad day at work, and not having spoken to him about last night. He was trying to make it up to her, to pamper her a bit, and she liked it, even if there was a part of her waiting for the bottom to drop out. Would it be better to talk now, or later? 

Sam was so earnestly trying, though, that she just nodded and smiled gratefully. She heard the sound of the water as it began to fill the bathtub, and then he came back into their room and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. "I love you. I'm sorry I didn't call you, and we'll talk later, but I want you to know that I love you." 

This time her smile was a little brighter. "I do, Sam. I know." 

He immediately beamed, and his blue eyes were bright. "Good. Then I'll leave you to have your bath." 

When she emerged from the steamy room 45 minutes later, she was feeling much more relaxed. A lot of her tension had bled away, seeping out into the slowly cooling water. As she walked into the kitchen she heard Vivaldi drifting out from the radio and she saw Sam stirring a pot on the stove as delicious aromas greeted her. Sam was cooking pasta and herb chicken and her stomach growled in response. 

She didn't know if he heard it, or just sensed her, but he turned and smiled when he saw her there. "Hey there, how are you feeling?" 

"Better, and starving." 

"Good thing it's ready. Go ahead and have a seat." 

The table was already set, a bottle of wine already opened, and she sat down. There was nothing for her to do, so she just waited for him to bring the dishes over. Deciding to go ahead and pour the wine, she took a small sip as he placed the dishes on the table and sat down across from her. "Did you speak to Will Bailey today?" 

He nodded, taking a sip of his wine. "He was exhausted, but we spoke some." 

Taking a bite of chicken, she thought over her next question as she chewed. "Did you guys talk about when you're going to go out there?" 

"I need to wrap up my stuff at the White House, but will head out there Friday or Saturday. Get caught up to speed and start the campaign next week." 

"Yeah," she murmured. She figured he would need to get out there as soon as possible to get his face and his stand introduced to the voters. 

"I've got the case still underway," she said, "what were you thinking about me with the campaign?" 

"Of course I want you there," he smiled warmly. "You're my bride-to-be. I know I didn't consult you before I agreed to this, but we're a team from now on. I want you there. But you've got your job here, and you're in this huge case," he paused and she waited to see what he said, "so when the trial's over, call me and we'll talk about your coming out." 

And just like that she felt like the bottom was dropping. He wasn't even _asking_ her to come. Just a _give me a call when the trial's over_. He may have felt like he was being helpful and understanding, but she felt like she'd been punched in the gut. 


	7. Candidate Seaborn 7

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

Sam sat in a lone empty room in the suite of rooms rented from the campaign headquarters, the din of workers droning on behind the door only slightly muted. He ran a hand over his face and sighed. This was not what he expected to find once he got to California. 

Life hadn't been very smooth before he left D.C. It had almost been easier for him to pack up his things at the White House and say good-bye to everyone there, than it had saying good-bye to Kathleen. There had been talk of Sam merely taking a leave of absence while campaigning, but he knew that they needed someone, and if he by some miracle actually won this election, then they'd have wasted the time they could have been finding a replacement for him. 

It was hard closing the door on over four years of his life. He had found himself while working on the campaign; moving from drone in a soulless law office to finding a purpose. In time everyone he worked with became his friend, his family. Spending as much time as they did together, it was either be friends or want to strangle them. He was glad they went the friends route. 

Walking away from them, from the support network they had become felt like he was walking away from a piece of himself. It was a bit frightening, but at the same time exhilarating, to head out on his own. He could put his views out there, he could hold his own office...if only he had a campaign manager. 

Will Bailey announced he had to have a vacation. He was exhausted from the campaign, and Sam could see it, but he didn't like it. He'd hoped for a little more guidance and introduction than a parting list of instructions as the guy walked out the door. Since he couldn't have that, he tried to get him to agree to help Toby with the Inauguration speech, but who knew how that would go. 

So now he needed to find a new campaign manager. Will said there were several people already on staff who would be good, but he needed to meet with them. He also knew the DNC would have their own input, and they had a lot more say at the smaller levels of office. He should call Josh or Toby and get their ideas, but he knew by focusing so intently on the campaign manager debacle, it was really just a way he was trying to put off what he needed to do. 

He didn't know what he'd said to Kathleen but she'd been distant since the night he fixed dinner for them. She seemed fine on the surface, but her smiles were a little too bright, a bit too brittle. She was always busy with work and meetings; she was barely around as he packed and prepared to head for California for the next three months, and he had the sinking sensation she was deliberately trying to avoid him. 

He tried to figure out what he'd done to upset her, but she just shook her head every time. Then she'd smile and say she'd figure out when she could join him. While he loved her and was concerned about what was upsetting her, he needed to get things together for this campaign. They would just have to talk about things when she came out, or at least visited on the weekends, because he'd already attempted to talk to her over the phone and gotten nowhere with her. 

Picking up the phone he dialed Toby's line and waited. "Hey, Toby," he breathed out when his friend picked up. 

_"What's up, Sam? I didn't expect you to call today."_

"How's the speech going?" 

_"Sam," Toby nearly growled, "I'm going to be fine. I'll find it."_

"I know you will," he assured him. "I just still feel bad I left you. So listen, I'm sending someone I think can help you." 

_"I don't need help." This time he did growl. "I'll be fine. I can write."_

"Listen, Toby, just listen to me for a second. It's Will Bailey and the guy can write. He fought the good fight here and he...he's one of us. Give him a shot." 

_"Sam."_

"Just give him a shot, Toby," he said, hoping to diffuse Toby's exasperation. "Or I'm going to be worrying about what's going on in Washington and I'll be faxing in even more sections." 

_"You need to focus on California," he instructed sharply. "Your job for the next ninety days is your campaign there."_

"Then talk to Will Bailey when he comes." It was blackmail. He knew it and Toby knew it. But he was concerned about Toby, not about his writing because Sam had confidence in his friend's writing talent, but Toby's own confidence was failing and he knew that something was needed. While sending in a new person and calling him a good writer may not be the best thing, it was the only thing he could do from across the country. 

_"Okay, Sam," Toby sighed. "I'll talk to him. Now, how are you doing? If you're sending this Bailey guy here, who's running the campaign?"_

"I don't know yet. Will just doesn't have another campaign in him. He gave me a couple of names, and I've got to the DNC. I'll be fine." A big part of his feeling better about being out here was making sure someone would be there to assist Toby on the speech. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen walked through the front door and slammed it shut behind her, not caring if it annoyed her neighbors down the hall. Flipping the locks and not even bothering with the lights, she dropped her briefcase with a muted thud, then shrugged off her coat and kicked off her shoes right in the doorway. Leaving them where they fell she crossed the darkened room, bypassing the phone and the blinking light on the caller ID box that told her she probably had voicemail. Pulling open the refrigerator, she grabbed a container of left over barbeque chicken she'd picked up the other night and tossed it in the microwave. 

When it was done, she grabbed a fork, the container, and headed down to the bedroom. It looked lonely and empty without Sam's things, and just like it did every night for the past week-and-a-half since he'd left, it pricked at her heart. They had spoken since he'd moved out there and she knew he'd found a small apartment and was working hard on introducing himself to the voters of the district. Although he'd grown up in the area, he'd been gone since he headed off to college. 

She stripped off her clothes, tossing them in the direction of the hamper and missing, then pulled on a pair of pajamas - Sam's shirt and her pants - and crawled onto the bed. Cutting into her chicken she wished she could just clear her mind of all excessive noise, but she couldn't. Sam hadn't even been out there two weeks and already she could tell he was frustrated. After pulling Sam into this whole thing, Will Bailey took off and left Sam to fend on his own. 

The campaign managers the DNC insisted he use were making decisions and putting things on the schedule that had Sam questioning them. They claimed it was the only way a Democrat could get elected in Orange County, but _she_ could tell Sam wasn't very happy with it, why couldn't they? They were also putting pressure on Sam for her to come out and make a presence for the campaign. If she couldn't come out permanently, then she at least needed to come for a weekend. It was important the voters see her, see that Sam wasn't fabricating a fiancée to make himself look like a family man, and also to put a face to the name for those that had heard about her from the Washington and New York news pundits and soften the image they might have of her. 

As she finished her chicken, she put the container on the nightstand and slid under the covers. She didn't even care that she didn't wash her make-up off or brush her teeth; she simply didn't have the desire or energy. Her mother would tell her to get her butt out of bed and tend to her nightly routine before she got pimples. If her mother was here right now Kathleen would tell her to shove off and then pull the covers over her head. 

After her mother first freaked out and demanded how Sam could do this to _her_ she then became excited. Her baby could become the wife of a Congressman. Kathleen could practically see her mother plotting her climb up the social ladder. Who cared if they had to postpone the wedding a little? It would now be Mr. and Mrs. Donovan are pleased to announce the marriage of their daughter to _Congressman Seaborn_. All the previous wedding plans had to be rethought and most likely redone. 

Snuggled down into the warm down covers she reached out and flipped off the light and hoped sleep would come easier tonight. She had not slept well since Sam left, but sleep aids never seemed to work for her. It was why she'd kept the lights low, didn't turn on the TV or anything that could get her more wound up than she already was. 

The phone rang out in the living room; she could hear the muffled sound coming through the door and pulled the covers over her head. Glad that she'd turned the phone off in the bedroom, she only had to suffer through two rings before the voice mail kicked in. She didn't want to talk to whoever called; she didn't want to talk to anybody. 

Her mother would want to bring by the latest magazine or brochure she'd picked up. She'd try to get Kathleen to commit to a time for a dress fitting or go to another caterer's tasting. Sam would want to talk about the case, or her boss and then eventually the conversation would roll around to when she could come out because his campaign managers were getting antsy. And if it was Mr. Glass, then she _definitely_ didn't want to talk to him. 

She needed sleep, she needed to wake up and cry while eating a pint of double chocolate fudge ice cream for breakfast just so she could crawl back into bed and go to sleep. She just wanted 24 hours of solitude and then she'd get back out there and deal with everything. But not now. She just couldn't do it right now. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"Sam." 

"Not now, Liz," Scott snapped as they walked back into the office space serving as the campaign headquarters. Scott was going off on Sam and apparently didn't want any interruptions. 

"He has a visitor," the aide tried again, and Sam looked over in question. 

"It's not on his schedule and he'll have to wait. Sam," he said, "come on, we need to talk about the meeting. You're still not listening to us. You can't say-" 

"Hold on a second," Sam interrupted, refusing to follow along and leave whoever was sitting in his office waiting there while Scott and his shadow reamed him out for not following their orders to cozy up to business. He turned to Liz and asked, "Did the person tell you his name?" 

"It's a she," the aide clarified. "Kathleen Donovan. Said you'd know who she was." 

"Kathleen?" he repeated. "She's here?" 

Liz looked at him as if began speaking Klingon and said, "Yeah, that's what I said. Why? Who is she?" 

"My fiancée," he said, brushing past her and leaving Scott calling after him. 

As he opened the door he stopped and smiled as he saw her sitting there at his desk. Her feet were propped up, she was leaning back in the chair and it appeared she'd fallen asleep in the sunlight filtering in through the window. His smiled turned down at the corners as he closed the door quietly behind him. Despite the distance across the room and her make-up, he could see the dark smudges beneath her eyes. She looked thinner than she did two weeks ago. If she fell asleep with all the buzz of activity outside the door, then he knew she had to be exhausted. 

Crossing the room, he sat down on the corner of his desk and reached out to brush a piece of hair off her face that was in her eyes. She shifted and mumbled, her eyes scrunching up before they drifted open. "Mmm..no, I don't want to wake up." 

"Hey there," he grinned when she blinked and her eyes cleared. 

She smiled back at him warmly. "Hi." 

"This is a pleasant surprise," he slid off the desk and knelt beside her. "How come you didn't tell me you were coming?" 

"Because it was a surprise, silly," she grinned against his lips just as he kissed her. 

"A very nice surprise." He didn't want her to feel like he was pressuring her, but he was curious how much time he had with her. "Are you just here for the weekend, or is there a break in the case? I want to be prepared for when I have to let you go again." 

Her smiled dimmed. "There's no break in the case. The case is over." 

"Did you guys settle?" 

She nodded, shifting in the chair. "The other side came to us and asked if there was a way they could avoid the rest of the trial. So Mr. Glass and the lead counsel on the other side hashed it out and came to an agreement." 

"So you got some time off, or are they putting you back to work right away?" he asked, settling more comfortably on the floor. 

"Oh," she grinned sardonically, "I've got a break alright." 

When he looked at her puzzled she sighed. "Mr. Glass said that with the trial over and with you out here campaigning, he thought maybe I'd rather be here with you. He _offered_ to let me take a leave of absence." 

"Offered?" he raised an eyebrow. 

"It was couched as an offer, but the strong underlying tone was that I really should take it." 

He sighed and brushed his fingertips over his jaw. He was angry at her bosses who milked who her for political gain when their announcement came out, and then tossed her aside like spoiled meat when the political pundits started spreading their ilk. But this wasn't the time, nor the place to let loose his anger, not when he could see the deep simmering hurt in her eyes. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry." 

She shrugged it off, but he could see her disappointment. "I really have missed you and I better get used to working on a campaign, huh? I know this what you want, Sam, and I just want to be with you. The rest of it...I just don't want to think about right now. So, what do we do?" 

"Well, I'm sure everyone would like to meet you and Scott wanted to talk to me, but I say we slip out the back and go have a quiet dinner at the apartment. It's been two weeks, and everyone will be here tomorrow. Tonight...tonight I'm unplugging the phone." 


	8. Candidate Seaborn 8

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

Kathleen walked into the campaign headquarters behind Sam, and she could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was unhappy. Of course, she knew that when she arrived five days ago and he sneaked them out a back door and filled her in on the latest in the great Scott Holcomb plan to get him elected. He was pissed that in order to get funding from the DNC he had to take Holcomb. Leo's repeated phone calls to the leadership were so far falling on deaf ears. Now that the President was incumbent for his last term they didn't feel the need to jump for him, especially in a throw away district. 

When Kathleen came in with Sam the next morning, she'd taken her own immediate dislike to Scott and his shadow. They told her she needed to lose the Washington corporate uniform and dress like a woman. Sam squeezed her hand to hold her back and told Scott she was always a woman and he was sure she'd dress in a manner the voters would warm to. 

Two days ago when she came because she was told ever-so-politely that they'd found the perfect opportunity to _introduce_ her, MiniScott took one look at her and told her to go home and change into something softer. She'd staunchly refused to follow his dictates and had to endure his mutterings under his breath and unhappy looks. Still, today when she once again joined Sam for a luncheon with civic leaders, she tried to go for an even more warm and approachable look. She felt like a fool for letting these men make her feel like she wasn't good enough. 

Scott wanted to speak with the both of them after the luncheon, and so after driving back in their own car, they headed into the bustling office. She hated that Sam seemed like he'd rather be doing anything but running in this campaign. When they finally talked about why Sam made the offer to Will Bailey, she finally understood just how much this had been growing in Sam. He had passion and drive and she knew if he was elected he would flourish in the whole Congressional process. While she felt at times he might get frustrated at the negotiating process - as he did sometimes at the White House - he would enjoy being a delegate of the people. 

But he was _not_ enjoying being put on display in unnatural places, and being told to say words he didn't fully agree with. This was supposed to be the time for him to get his message across, not perform like he was in a dog and pony show. He seemed unwilling to complain too much to Josh or Leo, but he was quite vocal with Scott. Problem with Scott was, he just didn't seem to care. 

As they walked into the office Liz looked up and smiled briefly before shooting an apprehensive look at the closed doors to her left. Sam flashed her a reassuring grin, "They in there?" 

She nodded, but before she could speak, the door swung open and Scott strode out. "Took you long enough to get back here." 

Rounding on Kathleen he glowered, "We thought you would be an asset to us here, but now we're not so sure. He seems more distracted and he's not listening to us." 

"Maybe because your suggestions are ridiculous. He's a Democrat and you've got him sitting down with business talking about tax cuts that he fought against in the White House," she said. Holding up her hand, she cut Scott off, "And spare me about how it's the only way to get elected in Orange County. Now, you said you needed to talk to both us, please tell me there was something more than just how I'm a distraction." 

"We wanted to talk about your wedding," MiniScott said. "It's not enough to just tell the voters you're engaged; we need to leak a few details. Starting with the date and place." 

"Somewhere in California would be nice," Scott chimed in. 

This really wasn't happening. Campaign managers cum wedding planners? She looked over at Sam with arched brow to see what he made of their sudden pronouncements. Instead she blinked in surprise when he lied, "Sorry, we haven't set a date yet. She was part of a really big case and I was working on re-election." 

Scott leaned forward, "Then maybe you could set one. In the meantime, Kathleen, may I commend you on finally dressing like we've wanted. No more stiff corporate attire." 

"Scott," Sam growled in warning. "However she dresses is fine. I think she's beautiful, and I'm tired of your constantly making snide comments. Knock it off or it won't matter what the DNC says, you'll be looking for new job. Did you have anything _else_ you needed to say to her?" 

"You should fill out a voter registration form. We need you to vote here, so list your address as Sam's apartment. Lots of people have two houses, just switch your registration out here. Liz can help you out," he said, then turned for his office. "Sam, are you coming?" 

"In just a minute." He turned to Kathleen and smiled as he rubbed her shoulder. "I'm sorry for what he said. If you don't feel like sticking around after you've filled out the form, go ahead and go. Scott and I have a few things we need to get straight." 

"Then I'll just see you at home," she smiled. She knew that he needed to work, and it was not the place to ask why he lied to Scott. She watched him walk into his campaign manager's office and close the door, then she turned and smiled at the first person she'd encountered on Sam's campaign. "So, Liz, where's the form and where do I go to turn it in?" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"Sam." 

Taking a deep breath, Sam put down his pen and looked up at Scott who stood in the doorway. "Yeah?" 

"We wanted to go over your notes for the town hall meeting tomorrow night. Your talking points on energy regulations in particular." He walked into Sam's office and sat down across the desk from him. 

It was a rare break in the grueling schedule Scott had set up for him, and Sam was hoping for a few moments of solitude. Stump speeches around the district, meetings with civic leaders, and debates had kept him busy for the past two months and he was looking forward to when it was all over. Most of all, he was looking to be rid of Scott Holcomb. 

"What about it?" Sam asked, taking off his glasses. 

"You've got to tone down your comments about regulation." 

"No," he shook his head. "There is an energy problem here in California, and clearly what was done before isn't working. If the state doesn't want to have rolling blackouts like they did last summer, then we've got to talk about this." 

"Sam, do you know what the business community is going to say if you start talking about regulations?" 

"No," he said sardonically, "but I'm sure you'll tell me. Scott, as I have repeatedly said, I am not going to roll over for business simply because you're too lazy to think of another way to get me elected." 

"Here we go again," Scott rolled his eyes and slumped in his seat. "This is not _Bartlet for America_ and I'm getting tired of having to hear about how you worked on his campaign. You are not Jed Bartlet, I am not Leo McGarry-" 

"That's more than obvious," Sam interjected. 

Scott glowered back. "I am doing what I can. If you'd just stop fighting me I could have you closer in the polls." 

"I am not going to play one way just to get elected and then vote a different way once I'm in office," he argued. 

"Why not? People do it all the time." 

"Because it's tantamount to fraud," Sam snapped, "that's why not. If I get elected it's because the voters chose me. The _real_ me, not some illusion." 

"Then quite honestly," Scott leaned back in his seat and smirked, "you're gonna get creamed." 

Scott then got up and left the office and Sam sank down in his seat with a groan of dejection. It was the first time Scott, or anyone, had voiced aloud the nagging thought that was pulling at the edge of Sam's mind. He was going to get creamed. By some miracle Will Bailey had run a successful enough campaign to get a dead guy elected, but Chuck Webb had certainly rallied from his defeat. By putting Sam with business and claiming it was the only way to get a Democrat elected, Scott was also making it hard for the voters to distinguish between the two candidates. The places that they did seem to clearly differ, didn't seem to be helping. 

What Sam needed was a brilliant mind like Leo, or Josh, or Toby, but sadly they already had jobs. Will Bailey seemed to be well on his way to securing a White House post as well. Every time Sam talked with Josh or Toby he said the campaign was going fine, but they could see as well as he could that he was floundering. There was no solid rudder on the ship, and he was getting nowhere. 

Kathleen was really amazing with how supportive she was being. She went to every function, every luncheon she was asked to attend, and she smiled gracefully and warmly. When Scott told her he'd set up an interview for her with a local newspaper, she didn't flip out, she called C.J. and talked for over an hour about how she should present herself to the media. Being questioned about a case outside a courthouse was different than being interviewed as the significant other of a political candidate. 

She didn't grumble about it, she mere put together talking points, anticipated questions that would most likely be asked of her, and went into the interview with a smile plastered on. When the piece came out, they both scoured it to see if any of the quotes had been taken out of context or misrepresented, and then she took C.J.'s phone call congratulating her for a job well done. She never even flinched at being told this was her job for the moment. 

Sam knew she was being bothered by her mom still about the wedding, although now that it was Sam's campaign and not the President's delaying the wedding Sylvia was much more amenable. Kathleen hadn't really heard from her work, apparently they didn't care how long her leave of absence went. She just went along; doing everything she could for him and the campaign and doing it with very little complaint, even when he could tell she wasn't always happy. He knew it was hard on her sometimes, she felt isolated and on the fringes, and that was why he had begun to plan. 

She asked him why he told Scott they hadn't set a wedding date and he explained away the lie by claiming who knew if they'd be able to keep the original one they set with everything going on. That wasn't the whole reason. He didn't care if Sylvia Donovan got mad at him forever; Kathleen was going to get the wedding she wanted, and not her mother's overblown hijacking. If he lost this election, and his gut was telling him more and more that no matter what he _hoped_ , it was a very real possibility, he was going to surprise her with a trip to Europe. They'd marry and honeymoon, and take a break from everything. 

He knew if he voiced that to her though, Kathleen would tell him it was unnecessary, and would insist he could win this campaign. Sometimes she was nearly as superstitious as Toby and she would tell him to not even _think_ such things, let alone voice them. So he just pretended he wasn't even thinking them, and when he would walk in on her talking with her mom about the wedding he'd smile warmly and tell her they'd have their day. 

They would, but in the meantime, he had to polish his speech for tonight's dinner. 


	9. Candidate Seaborn 9

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"Man, is it great to have you guys here," Sam smiled as he sat in the hotel suite with Josh and the others. 

"We're here, buddy," Josh grinned back. "We have come to ensure the voters of this district know how great you are. And, of course, elect you." 

"Well, they certainly know he has powerful friends who can shut down a freeway for hours and trap kids at Disneyland," C.J. laughed self-deprecatingly as she sat down on the couch and pulled her long legs up underneath her. 

"'Cause that's always a plus," Kathleen laughed as she walked into the hotel suite. Sam didn't know why she hadn't come up right behind them, but it didn't matter. He had his favorite people all in one place again. The Secret Service agent closed the door behind her, and she smiled at the room before collapsing into a chair. "Hey, Josh, good to see you." 

"It's always hard to tell whether you mean it or not when you say something like that." 

"Oh, Josh," she laughed, and Sam peered at her slightly when the laugh seemed a little too bright. "Get a little feisty with a guy and he's forever in fear." 

"I'm not in fear," he protested. 

"You're in fear, Josh," Toby said from his seat, not looking up from the notebook he was writing in. "And you should be. She could take you in a heartbeat." 

"Hey," Josh yelped. 

Sam leaned against the wall of the suite, too tired to even walk to a chair, and just smiled. He had missed these people. He knew what Josh was trying to do, and tonight he was grateful for it. After delays and countless newscasts on how families were stuck in their cars on shutdown freeways, Sam was a bit dejected. Josh and the others were trying to have a moment of levity before getting down to the unpleasant task of talking about the campaign. 

Kathleen appeared at his side and handed him a plate and a glass. It had small croissant sandwiches and a healthy serving from the vegetable platter. When he looked at her questioningly, she sighed. "You've been going a little heavy on the fried foods, _and_ the antacids. Have you forgotten your pills, or is your stomach flaring up?" 

"It's nothing to worry about," he tried to assure. "I'm sure it's just the bad diet. Thanks for watching out for me." 

She peered at him, not sure whether to believe him or not, but she shrugged and accepted it. She kissed his cheek and whispered 'okay'. Then she poured herself a drink before walking over to Josh and pulling the paper out of his hands as she perched on the arm of his chair. "Okay, enough chit-chat. Let's talk about what's on all of our minds. Who is going to take control of this campaign and get Scott Holcomb and his shadow out of here?" 

"Kathleen," Sam grimaced at her bluntness. 

"No, I agree with her," Toby piped up as Josh nodded. "Why is he putting you with business? You look like you're running in Webb's shadow, mimicking everything he does." 

"Who is this idiot, Sam, and why didn't you tell us sooner how bad things really were?" Josh asked. 

"Because you had jobs," Sam said, the words sounding hollow to his own ears. "I was grateful for all the help Leo gave in getting funds raised, I didn't-" 

"Screw not wanting to rock the boat, Sam," Toby growled, flipping his notebook shut, but not putting it away. "This guy is an idiot and there is no way I'm going to let him completely run you into the ground. Tomorrow morning Josh and I are going to talk to this guy Scott and, what's the other guy?" 

"MiniScott," Kathleen piped up, now sitting in a chair closer to the food table. "He's Scott's shadow. Frick to his Frack, Arm to his Hammer, white to his rice, Amos to his Andy." 

They all looked at her questioning and Toby piped up, "Are you drunk?" 

"I do believe I am," she said after a moment's thought. "I had a few drinks downstairs after I got off the phone with my boss, and I may have had a couple here." 

Behind her C.J. coughed discreetly and held up three fingers. Sam eyed her curiously, wondering how he missed her quietly getting drunk, and most importantly why. "She's more of a quiet drunk," he said, "but can get a little giggly." 

"Brain to his Pinky," Kathleen said and Sam jumped in to cut her off before Toby lost all train of thought and patience. 

"Maybe she could lie down somewhere?" he asked. 

"I've got to get some notes together for a meeting in the morning," Donna said, looking anxious and relieved to have an excuse to leave. "She can come with me. I'll get her to eat something, and you guys can talk." 

"Thank you, Donna," he smiled graciously. "I owe you one." 

"Just win," she grinned back and walked over to Kathleen, helping her up by the arm. "Come on." 

"Ben to his Matt," his fiancée said to Donna. "Is it wrong to think a guy younger than you is cute?" 

"As long as he's not under eighteen," Donna indulged her, then shot a look to Sam who could only shrug about her uncharacteristic behavior. 

The four of them watched the two ladies leave, then C.J. asked, "What'd her boss say that set her off?" 

Sam ran a tired hand over his face. "I don't know. I didn't even know they talked until she mentioned it. I'll ask her about it later, right now I want to hear what Toby has to say." 

Maybe it was wrong to not be more concerned about the phone call, but he had three of his most trusted friends in one place and they were fired up, ready to help on his campaign. He was sure Kathleen would understand if they didn't talk until the morning. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Hangovers were why she didn't drink more often. She hated the way her head pounded, lights were too bright, and her mouth felt - and tasted - like she'd strained her drinks through a gym sock. Her movements were slow and her fingers didn't work right until she had several cups of coffee and a whole loaf of dry toast. By the time she was feeling better, though, Sam was off on his appearances and stump speeches with the President. 

She wanted to know how the rest of the meeting went with Toby and the rest of them. The fatigue of the campaign and butting heads with Scott nearly every day was getting to Sam. She could see the resignation underlying the enthusiasm he tried to effuse to the voters. He didn't want to talk about it, but there were times she saw him looking dejected and lost. 

Hopefully Toby and Josh would be able to give the campaign a shot in the arm and a much needed nudge in the right direction. Maybe having the President here would get Scott to see that he shouldn't just coast along because he felt he had the backing of the DNC. Most of all, having his friends with him who supported and believed in him would get Sam back to that enthused level he'd been when he first came to California. 

She also felt the regret and shame that came with her hangovers and she needed to apologize for her behavior. She fell asleep shortly after arriving in Donna's room, and when Sam collected her and drove them home he laughingly told her she was naming off famous pairs in reference to his campaign managers. Toby thought she was crazy; Josh wanted her for his team in a pop culture trivia game. She wasn't warmed by either thought. She was pretty sure they wouldn't hold her behavior against her, but she needed to say it anyway. 

If she timed it right she wouldn't have to explain what had caused her to get drunk. She wasn't ready yet to tell Sam that she'd gotten into a huge blow out with her boss over her place and value in the firm. Mr. Glass said that whether Sam won or lost, they weren't sure it was an image they wanted associated with them. Kathleen took that to mean they believed he'd lose and since she'd already brought too much press to the firm, she probably wasn't of much use to them unless it was as the wife of a congressman. 

She could probably sue; she could probably get righteously indignant and raise seven kinds of trouble, but why? All of her work, all of her clawing up the ladder was blown away by one narrow-minded man. If she fought him and won, she knew she would forever be looked at and dealt with as the pariah who fought the firm. She just didn't want to deal with it anymore and so she told Mr. Glass he would have her letter of resignation mailed within the week. 

"Hey." 

She startled and turned to see Donna shifting nervously on her feet. "Hey, Donna." 

The blonde smiled uneasily and looked around at all the people milling in the halls. "It's always crazy to watch, huh?" 

"Is everything okay, Donna?" she asked as the other woman kept darting her gaze about the area. 

"I think I screwed up Sam's campaign," she confessed in a rush, almost distraught. 

"How?" 

"Sam fired one of his campaign managers." 

Eyebrows up, Kathleen asked, "Which one?" 

"I don't know, Kathleen. I am so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen." 

"Hey, hey," she said, steering Donna off to the side. "Slow down. Most of all calm down. It's okay. Tell me what happened." 

"Josh had me take a meeting," she began and Kathleen vaguely recalled that from last night. "I thought the guy was just with the California Agricultural Laborers Association, but he's one of the local Communist Party leaders and a photographer got a picture of us together. When I was telling Sam about it, this guy flipped out." 

When Donna fell silent Kathleen prompted, "What'd he say to you?" 

"Asked how stupid could I be, and then Sam fired him," she said twisting her fingers together. "Look, maybe I should apologize and tell Sam I'm not worth him losing one of his campaign managers." 

"Stop," Kathleen commanded sternly. "First of all, you heard last night that these guys are idiots and Sam has tried to get new ones. It was a lot of things, Donna, and you know Sam doesn't tolerate anyone disrespecting women. It was probably a relief for him to fire the guy." 

"Okay," she said, relaxing slightly. "Sometimes I just feel like a walking disaster. Everything I touch blows up in my face." 

"It doesn't. Stop trying so hard and relax. Josh isn't ever going to get rid of you because the man cannot afford to give up his right arm and the person who keeps him together. Just believe that you can do this. The first time I went to a function with Sam I felt like a fool and that everyone was watching me and if I did something wrong it would reflect on Sam's campaign. You have to let go of some of the tension or it'll kill you." 

Donna looked ready to say something but was distracted by Sam rushing by and heading straight for the President and Josh. They turned to see what had riled up her fiancé so much when Scott scurried past them, jostling them slightly in the crowded hallway. The two of them were a bit too far away to hear what the four men were saying, but it was clear all of them were emotion-charged. They watched as Scott blanched, then walked off in a huff while ripping his ID badge off. 

"What was all that about?" Donna asked as Sam walked onto the stage to address the gathered crowd. 

"I don't know," Kathleen puzzled as she tugged on Donna's sleeve and walked towards Josh and the President. By the time they reached Josh the President had been introduced by Sam and was onstage so she looked pointedly at the only remaining person. "What happened?" 

"Sam found out we were sitting on our tax plan so we didn't hurt his campaign," Josh said, watching the stage as the President launched into the endorsement of Sam. 

"And Scott?" 

"The President fired him and told Leo to take Toby off the payroll for the rest of the campaign." 

"Toby's going to run the campaign?" Donna asked with an excited smile. 

"He is," Josh confirmed with a grin. 

Kathleen watched from the side as the President put his arm around Sam and then dropped it down to grasp Sam's hand which he raised in the air in a sign of victory. Looking over at Josh she smiled, "Thanks, Josh, for going to bat for him." 

Josh merely nodded and Kathleen had a large smile cross her face. Toby was taking over. There was hope once more. 


	10. Candidate Seaborn 10

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

The old cliché had merit; what a difference a day makes. Or more specifically, what three glorious ones made. Watching Toby work on Sam's campaign, Kathleen caught a glimpse of the magic that Sam talked about in regards to President Bartlet's first campaign. The days when they were all idealistic, full of inspiration and drive and weren't going to let the fact that he was the underdog to Hoynes hold them back. 

Toby had put that same feeling back into Sam. It had been beaten down and nearly lost under the campaign that went against his ideals and beliefs. Toby's presence has snapped him out of his funk and brought that same fire and enthusiasm back that Sam had when he first came to California. Toby didn't prevent him from getting his message across, in fact he encouraged it. Sometimes quite vocally and strongly. 

It started out with a press conference on the beach and went from there. Toby was determined to put youth and energy back into the campaign. While trying to make him appeal to the older and more conservative voters of the country, Sam was also reaching out to the younger voters. Not only to just encourage them to vote, but telling them how he would deal with the issues that were important to them. He was telling them what Webb wasn't, their opinion mattered and they wouldn't get left behind in Washington. 

Kathleen smiled as she walked up beside Toby who was watching Sam intently and muttering under his breath, as if he could somehow put the words into Sam's head just by saying them. Sam was speaking to a group about how to improve the energy shortages facing the state, and while not everyone was in agreement with his positions, Sam was clearly in his element. He was speaking words he believed in, words that hadn't been changed or sanitized by Toby, but had been polished by his friend to get the most salient points across. 

"He's happy," she said softly, and Toby looked over at her. "He acted like everything was going well, but he was really unhappy with it. You've helped him remember why he agreed to do this in the first place." 

"He surprised us when that announcement was made," Toby chuckled, a brief moment of truth showing through as she saw disappointment as well that Sam hadn't told them. 

"He honestly thought Wilde would lose. He knows sometimes he clings too hard to his ideas for your guys' taste, and after he finally realized _why_ the DNC didn't spend more money in certain districts he just thought he was doing a nice, but throwaway, gesture for a widow. He never thought Will Bailey would pull it off." 

Toby raised his eyebrows. "We would have supported Sam." 

"I know. He knows," she assured him. "You guys were in the middle of the campaign and with the MS you had a big hurdle to overcome. He was giving his all to the job. He really thought Bailey couldn't possibly pull it off." 

"Will Bailey is clearly full of surprises." 

She bit her cheek and tried to tamp down the bitter feeling that rose up. "Yeah. He must lead a real charmed life. Miracle campaign to White House job. Nice of him to stick around and help out the guy he wrangled into the run-off." 

Toby smirked at her before darting his eyes back towards Sam. "Got issues?" 

"We don't have time for all of my _issues_ ," she laughed. "Let's put it this way, remember when I laid into you while Sam was in Costa Rica? You're safe now. Will's passed you up on my list." 

"I take it you didn't send him a cheese log for the holidays?" 

"That'd be a safe bet." 

"Don't worry," he told her, "there were quite a few people who didn't welcome him with open arms. They used his office to park their bikes." 

She nodded appreciatively, but then decided to get off that subject and onto what she really came over for. "I just wanted to thank you again, Toby. Your faith and support, it means a lot to Sam. And it means a lot to me." 

"It's what friends do," he shrugged. "Plus, I'd much rather work with Sam in Washington than Webb. Webb has been a pain in our side. Now, get ready, you're just about to be called up on stage to support your fiancé." 

Toby paused and looked like he was about to say something more, but he just shook his head and gestured for her to join Sam as the question and answer session ended and it was time for a few photos and a press the flesh moment. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam shuffled through the papers in front of him and looked up tiredly when his computer beeped, signaling a new e-mail in his inbox. He moved the cursor and clicked it open, wondering what Toby had to say. Reading through it, he wasn't surprised that Toby was giving him some last minute talking points for his breakfast meeting with local education leaders the next morning. Or, later that morning he guessed, not bothering to look at a clock. 

He tapped on the keyboard, telling Toby he was already on top of it and nearly finished going over the statistics his friend had given him. After hitting the send button he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. It was probably time to call it a night and get some sleep. He looked up at the clock, blinking for a moment to clear his vision. It was almost two in the morning and the breakfast was at seven. He glanced over at the couch smiling as he saw Kathleen asleep, he knew if she had been awake she would have told him long before this to turn off his computer and go to bed. 

His e-mail chimed again and he opened the new letter from Toby, chuckling softly when it was his friend telling him to go to bed so he didn't' fall asleep at the breakfast. He shot off a reply, telling the older man he would be fine but he was heading to bed. He ended it with _Thanks for caring, Mom_ and then turned off his computer. Whatever Toby would say in reply to that would just have to wait until morning. 

He put his notes into a folder and set it by the door so he could go over them one last time in the car on the way over. His note cards for his remarks were already in the inside pocket of his coat, which was hanging by the door so he could grab it and go. Giving at little grin at the little things Kathleen did to help him out, he returned to the living room and picked up the remote to turn off the TV. 

"Come on, Kathleen." 

She burrowed down in the couch, trying to evade his touch. "Come on," he tried again. 

"Is it time to go?" she asked thickly, her eyes still not open. 

"Just to bed." He'd leave her on the couch except for the fact that this one wasn't nearly as good as the one in Washington and he wanted her to be able to stand upright and actually walk in the morning. 

Her eyes were barely open as she sat up and glanced around. "Did you go over Toby's notes?" 

"I did," he nodded, switching off the lights as they shuffled slowly into the bedroom. 

"He's great, Sam," she smiled sleepily as he opened the door. 

"I agree," he nodded as she made a beeline for the bed and collapsed on top of the covers. 

He had missed being around Toby and Josh and working side by side with them. The times they disagreed didn't matter to him, he always found it exhilarating to work with them; helping them shape policy and writing words for the President to speak. 

While he would have loved for Josh to stay as well, he understood both Josh and Toby couldn't be gone at once from the White House, even if it was for only a week. The support and immediate decision of the President to have Toby stay behind had been touching. Toby was giving the direction and life to the campaign that Sam had hoped he'd find from the beginning. With Toby giving him the direction and belief that he'd fought Scott for every day, he was enjoying the whole process again. 

Sam had gotten his confidence back with Toby around. He realized he's been remiss in doing his job as a candidate. For whatever reason he'd allowed himself to be led by someone he knew he shouldn't put his trust or belief in. He hadn't listened to his instincts; maybe he'd been too caught up in wanting to win that he'd believed Scott Holcomb's plan was the only way to get elected. Sam was wrong and he was back to trusting himself again. 

Toby had the vision he agreed with, and after working with him for over four years the two men understood each other. Sam really believed that they could turn this campaign around. And if, by chance, they didn't then at least Sam would go out being true to what he stood for. 

Looking over at the bed as he changed he saw Kathleen was already back asleep. She probably had been since the moment she fell on the bed. He grabbed a blanket from the closet and brought it over to the bed; he was too tired to try and wrestle the covers out from underneath her. Setting the alarm, he unfolded the blanket and drew it over him and Kathleen as he lay down beside her. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

_"Is he still on?"_

Toby looked over at his computer, and saw there were no new e-mails from Sam since the one saying he was going to sleep, and calling Toby _mom_. Josh had laughed loudly over that, and after a while, Toby had chuckled as well. While he was definitely going to have a few words with Sam, he was glad to see Sam had lightened up enough to joke again, since his arrival. 

"I think he's off," Toby shook his head. "He hasn't sent anything back." 

_"If he hasn't responded to the one you sent, then he's not on. I know he's used to late nights, but it's two in the morning there."_

Which made it five in the morning in Washington. "Are you at the office?" Toby asked. "How's Will doing?" 

_"He's got interns in football jerseys and his sister working for him."_

Toby closed his eyes and rested his forehead against his hand. Good grief he'd hired an idiot and he was really glad he wasn't there at the moment. "I'll...I'll deal with it later. I'm not on the payroll right now. Remember?" 

_"And may I say how lucky you are?" Josh laughed. Then he switched gears to a more serious note. "You're doing great out there, Toby. We watched the coverage of the beach press conference when we got back. The President was effusive. Carol gives us daily clippings every morning from all the papers out there and they're saying really good things, man."_

"Thanks." He would be happier, and feel better if there had been a bigger shift in the poll numbers, but that could still improve before the election. He would also be happier if he had an extra week, but he also knew if he had two weeks he'd want a month. He was just greedy that way and always wanted perfection. 

_"His itinerary for the rest of the week looks great. You're capitalizing on his youth appeal and if you can get out the younger and first time voters then you've got a real chance."_

"Josh-" 

_"I will go outside, turn around three times and spit."_

"Thank you," he breathed out. "We're battling tough enough odds as it is, we don't need you bringing down the wrath from on high." 

_"Should I have Donna light a candle?"_

"It couldn't hurt." 

_Josh sighed and turned completely serious. "Toby, if there was only person I believed could do this, it is you. He's getting his message out there, you're distinguishing him from Webb, and if you appealed to any younger of a crowd he's going to be making appearances at preschools."_

Toby laughed and suddenly wondered how tired he really was when he was laughing out loud at Josh's jokes. 

_"Go to bed, Toby. Sam doesn't need you falling asleep tomorrow."_

"Yeah," he agreed, "I'll keep that in mind. Call me after your meeting with Mackey today." 

_"You're off payroll," Josh laughed, "so I won't be calling you. But I will talk to you on election night."_

Josh hung up and Toby sat there for a minute before hitting the end button on his cell phone. Just a couple more days to pull off the miracle everyone was expecting him to. He hoped he was able to do it, because most of all, he didn't want to let Sam down. 


	11. Candidate Seaborn 11

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

He wanted to throw up and the polls had only been open less than an hour. He'd been awake early, which hadn't really been too surprising considering he hadn't slept much to begin with. It was like the first time he ran for student council, when he'd woken up his dad sleeping in the easy chair by throwing up so loudly his dad had come down the hall to see if everything was okay. Sam hadn't thrown up yet, but he _had_ woken up Kathleen with his pacing in the living room. 

She was just as nervous as he was and she knew he wouldn't be able to eat very much, but she insisted he needed to eat something. So she sent him into the bedroom while she cooked and told him to call Josh. She said that maybe his best friend would be able to help him think of something else for a little while so he didn't wind himself up too early in the day. 

The call with Josh had been exactly what he'd needed. Josh had the right balance of encouragement and exuberance. Without tempting fate, Josh said he believed Sam had the right solutions and in the last week he'd really shown that to the voters. Josh told him he'd been following the local news and paying attention to the polls, and he liked what he saw. In the last week Sam had pulled to a statistical dead heat with Webb. 

Josh let Sam ramble for a while, and then made him laugh by relating the latest anecdote of an intern's gaffe. He said when it was all over, win or lose, Josh was going to let Sam take him out on his boat and promised he wouldn't even make a crack about Sam's sailing ability. When Kathleen tapped on the door half an hour later, he was feeling more calm and relaxed. He was able to go out and eat a small breakfast and then get ready for the day. 

It started with some of the local newspapers and news stations following as he and Kathleen went to their polling place and voted. Then Toby had last minute meetings and gatherings with supporters, as well as rallying whistle stops to encourage people to get out and vote. It was a busy morning, and by lunch time that queasy nervous feeling had returned and he found himself hoping he didn't embarrass himself by throwing up at the table. 

"It's a great day," Kathleen said, slipping her hand into his and squeezing. "Toby did great." 

"He did," he nodded, but also wished there had been more time. 

"I know I wasn't very supportive in the beginning and I'm sorry for that. Watching you...I don't now how to describe it, Sam. It's like this is you. You really found yourself here. I know you enjoyed working for the President and you learned a lot of things there, but it's like you just bloomed here." 

"Thank you," he smiled, leaning down to rest his cheek on the top of her head briefly. "This wasn't the way I thought this day would happen." 

"It's alright, you go with it. You did it much better than I did." She smiled and nudged him with her shoulder, "Which I suppose that's why it's good you're the one in politics and I'm just the one supporting you. I promise I'll do better." 

"You were great," he assured her. "You had your own stuff going on, and I didn't tell you in the best way. I'm just glad you were able to be here with me." 

"Me too." 

Toby walked up to them and flashed a brief smile through his normal election day grimness. "They're starting to announce the first projections on the noon news." 

"Exit polls?" Kathleen asked. 

He nodded. "Along with some actual returns, I think. It's electronicly scanned and there's only one race. As soon as people put in their ballot it's recorded." 

Sam looked at his friend and former boss and saw the gloom behind the gruffness. "What are the results?" 

"Webb's leading so far," Toby admitted. "But it's close and there's another seven hours. You know what they say about Republicans voting early and Democrats voting late. I'm not giving up yet." 

"Me neither," Kathleen grinned. "Anything can happen in seven hours and I believe good things will." 

Bolstered by their confidence Sam smiled and nodded resolutely, ready to face the rest of the day's events. "You're right. So let's get back to work. We've got a campaign that's ours for the winning." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Maybe he'd peaked. Maybe his talent and ability wasn't merely wandering around lost in the building; maybe they had packed up, bought a nice little condo down in Boca and retired. Before working on the President's first campaign he was a washed up failure. It appeared his moment in the sun was over, and he should step aside for others. 

He had failed Sam, on so many levels. He'd refused to see that Sam wasn't just a novice pretty boy sometimes useful for a good turn of phrase. Sam had grown; he had good ideas that weren't all pie in the sky dreams. They'd had merit and didn't deserve to constantly be shot down. When Toby's talent had started to wane, Sam had stepped up and carried more of the weight than Toby wanted to admit, but all the while Sam was encouraging and confident Toby's word wizardry would return. 

It hadn't, and it appeared it never would because Toby had failed. He'd tried to hide it, played off his writers block on the fact that he had to get used to the new guy, all the while knowing he didn't _want_ to get used to him, and that it was even more than that. Whatever flash of brilliance he seemed to get during the 'Bartlet For America' campaign was gone. He was nothing more than an illusionist, using slight of hand to distract from the fact that the person everyone thought he was was gone. It was all smoke and mirrors now; pay no attention to the fraud behind the curtain. 

Toby took a sip of his scotch and swirled the amber liquid over his tongue. The room was emptying, a slow drizzle of despondent and dejected people. The polls had closed, and the close margin Sam had to Webb at noon had grown into a clear gap. The news stations were calling the race against him; Sam had lost. Of course the official numbers weren't in, but these weren't the days of Dewey and Truman. There would be no embarrassed egg on the anchor's faces. Everything was automated, no hanging chads to be counted by hand that might change the outcome. 

He'd failed. He'd failed the man who stood by him, helped him, challenged him, made him believe in the goodness of the political system. This wasn't Sam's failure, this was Toby's. He hadn't stepped in soon enough, he had let Sam skate by with false assurances because he believed if Sam _really_ needed help he'd ask for it. He'd just gone along with the status quo instead of standing up and telling Sam help was on the way. 

Slowly he raised the cigar that had been dangling precariously from his fingers, and brought it to his lips. The tip flared in the dim room; Sam had gone through and killed most of the lights and nobody seemed to mind. Least of all Toby. 

Sam had been poised and gracious in the face of the television cameras crowded into the room. He'd smiled without guile or bitterness as he congratulated Webb on the well-fought campaign and wished the other man the best. Once the public concession speech was over and all the reporters gone, he stood before his staff and thanked everybody for all their hard work and effort. He praised them for their dedication and told them to all go home. There would be time enough to pack everything up, they didn't need to do it tonight. 

What Toby saw most of all was a man who just wanted everyone gone so he could sit down, nurse his pride and lick his wounds. Kathleen had carried his phone throughout the night and she fielded the calls from everyone back home, accepting their condolences, making excuses as to why Sam couldn't come to the phone, and promising that he'd call them back tomorrow. Toby had merely turned off his phone after talking to Andi. The only person Sam hadn't been able to avoid was the President. One simply didn't duck out on the President's call. 

Sam was off in a corner talking to him and Kathleen was elsewhere in the building seeing the last of the workers out and smiling graciously. For a woman whose life had been tossed in a blender she was handling it better than he was. Maybe she figured one of them should keep it together and then she'd fall apart in the privacy of her home. 

Toby exhaled a stream of smoke and looked up as footsteps approached. Taking a sip of scotch he watched as she drug a chair closer to his and sank wearily into it. Kicking off her high heels she sighed appreciatively and closed her eyes, sinking down to rest her head against the back of the seat. 

"Everyone go?" he asked her. 

She nodded, not even bothering to open her eyes as she barely raised her head off the back of the chair. "Yeah. Some were pretty stoic, others were downright depressed." 

"I'm sorry," Toby said softly. "I'm sorry I let Sam down." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen raised her head and slowly opened her eyes to peer at Toby. He took a sip of his scotch, his face quite dour as he looked away. "You didn't let Sam down," she shook her head. 

He just took a puff from his cigar, glancing up at the ceiling. Leaning forward she pressed, "Toby, you didn't. I don't think so and I can guarantee that Sam doesn't, and won't ever, think you did. You made this last week of the campaign what he wanted it to be." 

"I should have come out here sooner. I needed more time. There had to be something more I could have done." 

"Toby, you kept him from getting completely blown away. You brought him back in the polls. Most of all, you let him show the voters who he really was. You didn't dress him up and parade him around like a wind-up doll, and I'll tell you this, he appreciates that more than anything. You were his friend and you supported him." 

"Thank you," he said quietly. 

She stood and shook her head. "No, Toby, thank you. Are you gonna stick around or are you going back to the hotel?" 

Toby shrugged and she just nodded and patted him on the shoulder. "Okay. I'm going to go find Sam. Don't leave without saying something to one of us." 

Slowly she wandered towards the back of the room, stepping over abandoned boxes and signs from the campaign. She found Sam sitting on the floor, in a darkened corner leaning against the wall. His tie was stripped off and on the floor, the top three buttons of his shirt undone. A bottle of scotch sat beside him and she figured he and Toby must have bought them on their way over for the speech. 

Lowering herself to the floor beside him she reached over and took his glass, bringing it up to her lips for a sip. She settled it back in his hand as she slipped hers through his arm and rested her cheek on his shoulder. "Hey there." 

He rested his cheek on top of her head, a sigh sliding over her hair. "Everyone go home?" 

"Toby's still here, but everyone else left. You want to head home?" 

He shook his head and lifted his head to take a sip. "I just want to sit right here." 

"Okay." 

They sat there for a while, the only sound the sloshing of the scotch as he refilled the glass for her or took a drink from the bottle. She didn't say anything, knowing that he didn't want to talk right now. He would talk when he was ready, or she would simply pour him and Toby into the car and drive them home when the scotch was gone. 

Sam let out a heavy sigh and brought his hand up to rub his eyes. "If only we'd had more time. Toby could have turned it around. There just wasn't enough time." 

"I know," she said softly, tracing her fingers over the back of his hand. "The next time you run for office you're getting a campaign manager more like Toby and less like Scott." 

"There won't be a next time," he shook his head and she looked up at him in question. 

"What?" 

"My political career is over, and it never even went anywhere." 


	12. Candidate Seaborn 12

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

Josh walked into Toby's office, glad to see his friend and colleague back. Toby had been exhausted from the non-stop work in California, but in spite of that he'd been ready to come right back to work in Washington. Leo and the President insisted, however, that he take a couple of days off to catch up on his sleep. Despite his anxiousness to talk to someone, Josh had respected his friend's need for rest - among other things - and hadn't called. Now that Toby was back in the office, he was fair game. 

Part of Josh's desperate need to talk sprung from the fact that he'd only talked to Sam once. His best friend hadn't been in the mood to talk very much, still being rather dejected over the loss. Josh knew he wasn't in the mood for jokes, but he hadn't accepted encouragement very well either. 

Josh had actually talked to Kathleen more than Sam. He'd gleaned from the few things she said in their conversations that Sam was fearful this loss would prevent him being elected to any other office. With time he knew Sam would realize politics wasn't as unforgiving as it used to be and that Sam would be able to overcome this one defeat and be elected to whatever office he wanted. Kathleen knew the same truth, and she said Sam would too, he just needed time. 

Josh knocked on Toby's door and then practically bounced through the doorway into the office. "Welcome back." 

Toby looked up, his face set in a scowl from the papers on his desk he'd started going through, and it didn't change much when he saw Josh. "Hey." 

"Look, I know you want to jump right back into everything, but I wanted to see how you thought he was really doing. I only talked to him for maybe fifteen minutes and he's been avoiding me ever since." 

Toby looked at him, sighing as he scratched his eyebrow with his thumb. He dropped the papers, his face softening and gestured for Josh to sit. "You know Sam," he said, a bittersweet look on his face, "he gives everything he has. He ran straight for the wall, knowing he'd probably do a full-bodied splat. But knowing it doesn't lessen the sting any." 

Josh sighed, slumping in his seat. "I knew he'd take it hard, we're all taking it hard. I just wish I could help him some how." 

"Give him a little time. Both he and Kathleen need it. Sam was going to rent a boat and the two were going to head out for a while. You know he always seems clearer and calmer after he sails." 

"Yeah." It always seemed to help in ways no one could really explain. "So after a couple of days..." 

"If after a couple of days Sam is still playing Gloomy Gus," Toby said, "then you have my full support to go out there and kick his butt." 

Josh laughed, but Toby's face was serious. "I mean it. I talked with him, but I also knew he wasn't ready to be pushed." 

"Okay," Josh sighed, grateful for the news, but hoping it would have been better. "I better go. I've got a....thing." 

"Josh." Toby's voice stopped him and he turned around and looked back. "He'll be fine. Just let him have his time on the boat. Then I predict he'll call you." 

He smiled and nodded. "Okay. Thanks, Toby. I'll let you get back to work. Especially looking over those speeches Will and the interns in football jerseys worked on." 

Then, with a smirk on his face because of Toby's scowl, he headed back down the hall to his office. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen stepped up onto the deck and sighed when she saw Sam leaning against the rail, staring out over the water. He'd been in the same position when she went down to fix lunch; he'd been in that pose for most of the past three days. 

"Lunch is ready." 

He didn't move or give any indication that he heard her. She understood that he just wanted some time to relax and regroup before he made any decision about what to do. But after three days of pensive staring and very little talking, she was wondering when it ceased being contemplation and solidly crossed the line to depressed moping. 

"Sam." 

He still stared out over the water and didn't move. She knew he could hear her; she wasn't shouting, but no one could ever accuse her of whispering like a shrinking violet. She was tired of being ignored and constantly having to drag him down to meals to talk to her. If he was going to act like this, she wondered why he had been so insistent that she come with him or that they even come out on the boat. He could have just as easily ignored her at home. At least there she would have had means of occupying herself instead of growing angry and resentful. 

"Alright," she shook her head. "If you're hungry, it's ready. If not, I'll just put it away and you can get your own food when you're done." 

Then she turned and walked back down into the cabin. As she sat there eating she listened for any sound of footsteps up on the deck, but heard none. When she was done eating, she put away the remaining food, cleaned up and cast a glance up at the ceiling and shook her head. Grabbing her bag, she sat down at the table and pulled out several pens and a yellow legal pad. 

Even if Sam wasn't ready to start thinking beyond tomorrow, she needed to do _something_. She needed to come up with options, ideas of what they could do, even if this was only for herself. She liked lists, she liked writing things down, and if she was distracted, it would help pass the time that seemed to be dragging on like they were caught in molasses. If Sam remained firm in his decision to be done forever with politics, they needed to come up with something else to do. They could join a law firm, open a practice of their own, write a book, teach - what college communications department wouldn't salivate at the chance to hire the former communications deputy for the President? Or maybe Sam just didn't want to do politics with himself as the candidate, in which case he could join the staff of a congressman or a senator. She wrote down everything she thought of, no matter how far fetched or seemingly innocuous. 

If, however, Sam decided to stay true to what was in his heart and follow it back into politics as a candidate, then that was a whole other thing. They could stay here in California, or move back to the D.C. area where they could go to Virginia or Maryland. Did he start in local city government, go to the state level, or take another stab at the national scene? She knew those decisions would probably depend on what the DNC and his friends back at the White House thought. She also knew that he would rely more heavily on his friends this time and seek out their opinion more, instead of being pushed around by the DNC leaders. 

When she had pages filled with future career and living options, she flipped to a clean page and thought about their wedding. She really was not looking forward to her mother renewing the wedding planning blitz. Maybe she could convince Sam now to run off to Vegas with her. Now that they were closer, maybe he'd be a little less resistant. She'd even offer to drive the whole way there. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam stood, slowly straightening and wincing as he realized his muscles had stiffened from the hours he'd stooped at the rail. The sun was low, ready to sink and he was surprised at how long he'd been out here. He turned, looking behind him and frowned slightly when he didn't see Kathleen. Oftentimes she would sit up on the deck and read while he was out here. 

His stomach growled and he glanced down at his watch, wondering just what time it really was. He'd skipped lunch, and he knew Kathleen wouldn't be real happy about that. He'd ignored her, not up for another meal of strained silence as she tried to talk about anything but what she really wanted to. She wanted to try and figure out what he was going to do, but she was tired of getting rebuffed each time. 

Sam knew that whatever he decided Kathleen would support him. The night of the election she looked at him in surprise when he'd declared his political career was over. Maybe he'd been a bit reactionary and maudlin like she said. She told him that one defeat didn't mean the end of the world, even a higher profile election like this. Nixon had been vice-president, lost his first campaign to be president, then governor of California, but came back to become president. Everyone thought he was over, that he should just stop, but he didn't. Nobody is ever really over, nobody can ever be counted out and Toby had strongly agreed with her. 

Despite what she and Toby thought, he _did_ know that. And he knew that he couldn't be stopped by one defeat. He liked to think of this as a practice run, dangling his feet in the water to get used to the process. He learned what to do and what not to do, and he wasn't going to give up. He kept going when he worked at the White House, even when he'd been shut down and shut out. 

What he really needed was a vacation. He's worked so hard at the White House, not having a proper vacation in over four years - aside from his little freak out trip to Costa Rica. Then he jumped into a frantic three months of the campaign. He needed a few days where nobody could bother him, where they couldn't call or e-mail him. The best place for that kind of peace was on a boat. So he'd grabbed Kathleen and went out on the water. 

Maybe he hadn't been the most fair to her. He hadn't really talked to her very much, he'd still been thinking. He figured she could also use a break from everything, her mother had started calling several times a day after the election was over. Having her with him, even if he hadn't said it to her, was helpful to him. Now it was time to make up for these past couple of months, and the way to start doing that was to stop sulking up on deck while she was down below. 

He headed down the stairs, ducking his head at the threshold and was surprised to find the room dark and quiet. Kathleen wasn't up; he could see her sleeping on the bed across the way. Turning on a soft light so he wouldn't wake her, he decided to grab something to eat and let her sleep a little longer. Pulling out several containers from the little refrigerator he walked over to the table and paused. 

A legal pad was laying there, several pages curled over the top to a sheet that read: Convince Sam to elope to Vegas. 

He picked it up, curious and not above snooping. Flipping back the pages to the beginning he saw her notes regarding jobs, politics and where they could live. She had laid out every possibility, and he saw just how much she was true in her support to him, yet he also saw how desperate she was for some kind of direction, some course of action. 

Putting down the pad, he opened a container and dished out the tuna salad she'd made for lunch. Feeling more confident in his decision, he knew he just needed to tell her. The quiet, reflective period was done, it was time to lay out what he'd come up with put it all into motion. 

She stirred on the bed and he looked up, watching as she stretched and slowly drifted from sleep to awake. She rubbed an eye lazily, and then paused as if sensing that she wasn't alone, that he was in the room with her. Stiffening, she turned and propped herself on her side. "You're down below." 

"Yeah." 

"Have you been down here long?" she asked, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up. 

"I just came down," he shook his head, his food now forgotten. 

"Sam, why are we doing this?" she asked, crossing her arms defensively in front of her. "Are we just going to bob around like a cork while you brood and hide out, ignoring everyone, including me? Or can we talk? Sam, I don't even care if we just talk about sailing and you tell me stories I've heard a hundred times." 

"We can talk," he said softly, "but maybe I could say a few things first?" 

She nodded, dropping her arms to rest her hands on the counter behind her. 

"I'm not ready to give up on politics," he began and he could see the surprise on her face that he'd started out right away on the topic he'd been avoiding most. "You and Toby were right; one defeat isn't the end of everything. If I give up now I will regret it forever. I could go back to a law practice, but it'll nag me and I'll always wonder if I could have, or should have, gone after it again. I don't want to drag us into this every couple of years, I'd rather give it everything I have _now_." 

Kathleen gave a small smile, relaxing some, but remained silent to let him continue. "But I don't want to decide what level I'll try for or where yet. There's something I want to do first. I want to take you to Europe." 

"Europe?" she questioned, her head shaking in puzzlement. 

"I've been thinking about this for a little while, before Toby joined the campaign and I began to sense that I wouldn't pull it off with Scott in control. You didn't complain, even when your boss turned on you, and I want to do something for you." 

"You don't owe me anything, Sam," she shook her head. 

He just smiled at her and took a step towards her. "I want to. Let's go to Europe. Let's get married there and then travel and just spend some time alone. When we get back, after spending however long we want to there, we'll figure out what we'll do about running for office." 

"You want to get married in Europe?" she asked, looking like a deer caught in headlights, unsure of anything. "What about our family? Our friends? Are we going to ask them to fly to Europe?" 

"No. This is just us. Your mother has added to your stress, however well-meaning she was. So we aren't telling her, or anybody else. We'll tell them afterwards, and they'll just have to accept it." 

"They'll flip." 

"No more than they would have if we eloped to Vegas." 

She raised her eyebrows on that comment. "Um, yeah, they will. People run off all the time to Las Vegas and elope. We're planning to run off to Europe. They'll see a huge difference." 

"So," he shrugged. "I don't care. I want to give you something classier than a cheap quickie wedding on The Strip. So, what do you say?" 

She laughed at him, her disbelief evident. "Go to Europe and get married? I think you're crazy. But...I do have to admit it's rather appealing to know that my mother won't get to turn into Mother of Bridezilla on me. 'Though she'll kill me when I tell her afterwards." 

"So, call her from Europe. She can't kill you through the phone. We can go anywhere you want, get married any place that you choose," he promised, hoping to entice her. 

"Anywhere I want," she murmured and he could see her giving it serious consideration. "How could I pass that up, especially when you point out all the benefits? When can we leave?" 


	13. Candidate Seaborn 13

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"Mom, it's a vacation, it's not like we're moving there or anything." 

Sam cast a glance over at Kathleen, as she sat on the couch lying to her mother about their _post-Valentine's Day trip_. She hated the deception, but she'd wanted to avoid the wedding nightmare even more. When they got back from being out on the boat there had been over a dozen messages from Sylvia _gently_ asking if they'd given any thought to their wedding. Kathleen had deleted them all and gone to bed without unpacking. 

While Sam was glad he was giving Kathleen a simpler wedding, one that she truly would enjoy, he didn't want to listen to her conversation. If he wasn't in the room, Kathleen would later be able to get the conversation out of her system when she recapped it for him afterwards. He picked up his cell phone and gestured to the bedroom. She nodded and waved at him in agreement. 

As he left the room he heard her sigh, "Mom...because he needs a vacation. _I_ need a vacation." 

Shutting the door behind him, he cleared a space on the bed and sat down. If they decided to stay in California they would definitely need to get a bigger place. The little one bedroom apartment he rented for the interim of the campaign simply wasn't going to be big enough. Leaning back against the wall he dialed and rested his head while he waited for the phone to be answered. 

_"Josh Lyman's office."_

"Hey, Donna, it's me. Is Josh available?" 

_"Hold on a second, Sam."_

He was actually put on hold instead of having to wince as she yelled at Josh. He knew from experience that meant someone was in Josh's office and she was slipping him a note. Sam didn't want to interrupt whatever meeting Josh was in and wished she could get back on the phone so he could tell her to just have Josh call him back. 

_"Hey, Sam," her cheerful voice came back through the line, "he's just finishing up."_

"I don't want to interrupt," he shook his head as if she could see him. "He can just call back." 

_"Actually, you're his out," she admitted with a little laugh. "He's been stuck in a meeting with a deputy agriculture guy for over an hour. Any longer and he's going to slip into a coma or say something really stupid. He's signaling me impatiently so I'll talk to you later."_

Sam tapped his thumb and forefinger against his thigh as he was put on hold briefly before Josh picked up. 

_"Hey, Sam. How you doing, buddy?"_

"Pretty good, Josh," he said with a smile. 

_"How was the time out on the boat?"_

"Just what I needed," he said with a relaxed sigh. "You know, you said you'd go out with me after the election...win or lose." 

_"Yeah," Josh said a little slowly, and Sam could sense Josh's hesitance to get on a boat, but knew he'd honor his promise. "I did say that. Alright...well I'll have to have Donna clear me some space on my schedule."_

"How 'bout you and I go out when Kathleen and I come back to Washington?" 

_"You guys are coming back?"_

"For a visit at least," he told his friend. "We plan on stopping there on our way back from Europe." 

_"Alright," Josh laughed, "now I know you're feeling better because you're purposefully dragging this out. What is it that you've got to say?"_

Sam laughed, missing Josh and being able to just pop into his office and talk. He knew they could call and visit each other, but it would never be the same as these past four years. He just didn't want to go back to those days before the first campaign when he was in New York, Josh was in Washington and they rarely spoke to each other. 

"Kathleen and I are going to Europe," he said. "It's a late Valentine's Day present for her. We're just going to take our time, no real itinerary, so we're not sure when we'll be back. But when we do, I want to talk to you and Toby." 

He paused and could practically hear Josh holding his breath. "I want your guys' input on where to go from here." 

_"You're going to run for office again?" Josh asked. "Sam, I think...I think you made a great decision. You've got too many good ideas, too much passion for this to just give it up."_

"Thanks, Josh. You're right. I'm not ready to give it up. But I haven't decided where to live or what level to start out at. Kathleen and I decided to figure that out when we get back." 

_"You know, let me talk to Toby and Leo, and the D Triple C. We kinda dropped the ball with your California campaign. This time we're going to do better, and I promise we won't trap families at theme parks again."_

"Josh, you don't have anything to make up for," Sam protested. 

_"Sorry, gotta disagree with you there, pal." Josh paused and then Sam heard a sigh along with the soft voice of Donna in the background. "I gotta go, Sam. Listen, have a great trip and call us when you get back. Toby and I will put our heads together on this while you're gone. Talk to you later, okay?"_

Sam smiled into the phone, "Yeah, talk to you later, Josh." 

Turning off his phone he leaned back and couldn't help feeling happy at the immediate support Josh offered. He'd hoped to get a little more from them this time, but he was surprised at the quick and forceful way his friend insisted they'd be there to help out. It kind of helped him not feel quite so bad about not telling Josh the true nature for their trip. He'd wanted to tell his friend, because he knew Josh would be happy for them and understand their decision to just do something quiet and the two of them. But Josh wasn't always great at keeping secrets, especially ones like this, and if one person or even a few people knew, those that didn't would be hurt and upset. Plus, Kathleen's mother would blow a gasket if his friends knew about the wedding and she didn't. 

Getting up off the bed, Sam headed back out to the living room. Hopefully Kathleen would be done with her own phone call, and if she wasn't he could give her an excuse to get off the phone. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen looked up and smiled weakly when Sam walked into the room. "I am a horrible, horrible daughter. I sat here lying to her, promising my mother that as soon as we got back from Europe we'd talk about the wedding. She even promised she'd keep it more low key this time. And the entire time I was agreeing with her, I _knew_ I was gonna run off and elope." 

"If you're going to feel guilty we can just have a vacation and get married when we get back," he told her, picking up her feet and sitting down beside her. 

"As guilty as I may feel, the thing I want to do least of all is go through the stress of my mother trying to help plan our wedding. I'd rather put up with a big, overblown reception than pick dresses and churches and all that." 

"Okay, so where do you want to go then?" he asked. "What about Paris?" 

"Do _you_ want to go to Paris?" she asked. 

"I don't care where we go." 

"I really don't either," she said, "but if we go to Paris, I don't think I want to get married there. Everyone says Paris is so romantic, blah, blah, blah. It feels trite that we'd go there to go married. Like the Las Vegas of Europe or something." 

"Are you a French snob?" he asked with a laugh. "There is so much more to Paris than that." 

"I'm sure there is," she said. "I like the French. I think the President was wrong to call them poncy hairdressers or whatever it was he said. And I'd love to see the country." 

She shrugged because she couldn't explain it adequately. "I just don't want to get married there." 

"Fair enough," he accepted with a nod. "We'll put it down as a place we want to go. So if it's a 'no' on getting married in Paris, where _would_ you like to get married?" 

"That," she sighed, "I don't know." 

"Well you're a lot of help you know?" he laughed as he nudged her shoulder. 

"What about you?" she turned the tables on him. "This is your wedding too. You have a say in this. Where do you want to go?" 

"Spain." 

"Spain? That's interesting and different. You don't hear many people say they ran off to Spain to get married. I think that'd be great." 

"Okay," he smiled at her, "then I'll get us on a flight as soon as we think we can be packed. Do you have your passport here or do we need to stop in Washington?" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Toby looked up as Josh walked into his office and sat down on the couch. Toby watched him, sitting in the chair beside it, his feet propped up on the coffee table and raised his eyebrows at his colleague. "Did you need something?" 

"I talked with Sam," Josh smiled. 

"He called you?" When Josh nodded, Toby shrugged. "See, it's the boat. Whatever it does for him you have to acknowledge that it helps." 

"He's taking Kathleen to Europe. His Valentine's Day present to her." 

Toby merely arched his brow, his attention already returning to the notes in his lap. He was glad Sam had called Josh; he didn't care the younger man was taking his fiancée to Europe. He didn't begrudge Sam any love or happiness; he just didn't want to hear the minute details of it. Glancing up at Josh he wondered if he should nip all this talk in the bud before Josh started talking about Amy. He blinked when he saw the other man grinning and shaking his head. 

"What?" 

"You didn't hear what I said did you? You started to tune me out, didn't even give any obligatory 'uh-huhs' or 'yeahs'." 

"Josh," he prompted when the other man fell into silence. "What'd you say?" 

"Why should I tell you?" 

"Because I'll tell Leo it was you that derailed the bi-partisan education talks yesterday." 

Josh's playful smirk fell off his face and he sat up strait, his feet dropping off the table to the floor. "You swore you wouldn't tell Leo about that...we agreed it was just-" 

"Leo already knows about it," a voice said from the doorway causing Josh to flinch. "What I want to know is what Toby's blackmailing you about with it." 

"Hey, Leo," Josh said, scooting over to make room for their boss and scrambling to deflect quickly. "I heard from Sam today." 

"He's off the boat? What'd he have to say?" 

"He's taking Kathleen to Europe." 

Toby leaned forward and interrupted Josh. "You can tell Leo all about Sam's travel plans later. What'd Sam say? Has he made a decision?" 

Josh nodded and finally quit playing around. "He's not ready to give up politics. He wants to run again, but he's not sure where or what level. He said they'd decide when they got back. They're going to stop in D.C. when they return and he wants to talk to us and get our input. I told him we'd support him, get the party behind him better than out in California." 

"The President was hopping mad at the knucklehead they stuck him with," Leo said. "He had it out with a few people and I think he's got them afraid he really _won't_ make endorsement stops for people they ask him to. They'll help Sam better this time." 

"Then we should get thinking on it," Josh declared. "We've got some time. Sam said he doesn't know how long they'll stay. Maybe a couple of weeks, maybe more. Point is, we should all be thinking about it." 

"And we will," Leo agreed. "In the meantime, Josh, you and I need to talk." 

Toby watched Leo and Josh exit his office and let a whisper of a smile play in his beard. He was relieved, happy and proud about Sam's decision. He knew the younger man would regret not giving the process another chance, and Toby was really glad he wasn't going to have to fly out of California and kick Sam's butt for a boneheaded decision. 

Sam had a resiliency that was needed to survive in this world, and Toby knew that with time Sam wouldn't take all the setbacks as deep personal blows. Hopefully as that viewpoint developed he wouldn't lose the optimism he had. Toby sighed, knowing he needed to get back to work, but he couldn't help thinking that if Andi wasn't pregnant he would gladly follow Sam anywhere and into whatever race he ran for. 


	14. Candidate Seaborn 14

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"Have you been watching the news?" 

"No, Josh," Toby replied, his head bent over his desk, "I haven't. I mean, it's not like I have a job that requires me to pay attention to the press what-so-ever!" 

"Okay," Josh said slowly, rethinking his plan to talk to talk to Toby. For the past month Toby had been growing more and more short-tempered, frustrated and prone to fits of ripping up massive amounts of yellow pads. He was sure the older man would rather be burning them, but after nearly setting off the sprinkler system Leo had expressly forbid Toby to burn anything bigger than a cigar. 

"This is obviously a bad time, so I'll just come back." 

Josh was nearly back inside his office when he heard Toby calling after him. He stopped and waited for the older man, then motioned for Toby to walk with him. Maybe not sitting in an office would help calm his friend down. 

"What'd you want?" Toby asked as they walked along. "Which news story?" 

"The stuff out in California." 

Toby shook his head and muttered under his breath, but Josh was pretty sure he head the words "nut jobs" in the diatribe. "Yeah, I've seen it," he said. "It was also on NPR when Andi and I were coming back from her doctor's appointment. It's a mess." 

"Yeah," Josh nodded in agreement. "I don't think he's gonna dodge a recall. The Secretary of State has pretty much said he's going to certify one; if he does that I don't think there's any way the governor's not going to lose." 

"And the lieutenant governor is too close to the whole thing. I think he'll run," Toby said with a shake of his head, "but I don't think he can separate himself enough from the scandal to win it. Who do we have in California that we can put in the race?" 

"I don't know," Josh sighed. "Alvarez from the 25th is good, but would she want to leave when she just got re-elected?" 

"And would we even want her to leave?" Toby asked. "She's got good seats in several House committees and she's been helping the administration get a lot of things passed. We may need her as our ally here more than have her back in California." 

"Yeah," he agreed, as he stopped and looked around to see where they were. They turned and started back towards their offices, knowing they couldn't spend too much time walking around. "Okay, we obviously gotta think about this more. Maybe get some names before we talk to Leo. California's a key state; we need to keep an eye on it." 

They started up some stairs towards the main level, each man more quiet as they thought about the situation. "Hey," Josh asked, "how'd Andi's appointment go? Babies doing okay?" 

Toby gave a rare, but genuine, smile. "Yeah. Everything's going really good." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Several days later Toby popped his head into Josh's office and scowled. "California's Secretary of State just certified the recall. They're gonna hold an election." 

"Crap, I was hoping he could dodge it," Josh rubbed his eyes and looked up blearily. "I've been so caught up in working on the latest energy bill details I haven't even had a chance to think of more names." 

"Well, we better," Toby said as he came in and sat down across from Josh's desk. "It's got all the makings of a three-ringed circus out there. The lieutenant governor's going to run, but lately he's had so much bad press spilling over on him from the governor that he's already being called a long shot. What's worse is everyone seems to be throwing their hat into the ring." 

Josh leaned forward. "Like who?" 

"That Communist Donna met with when we were out there, a couple of former child actors, there's even an ex-porn star who's circulating petitions." 

"A porn star? Which one?" 

"Josh," Toby chided. "You're missing the point here. The point is that we've got to think about a legitimate name here or California's going to go to the birds." 

"Nuts," Josh murmured. 

"Hey," C.J. said, popping into Josh's office and leaning against the desk on Josh's back wall. "What are you two talking about?" 

"The California recall," Toby told her. 

"What a coincidence, that's what I was going to talk about. Do either of you watch Leno?" she asked. 

"I'm more of a Letterman person," Josh shook his head. 

"Funny, I'd have pegged you for an SNL person," she smirked. "Toby?" 

"Ted Koppel," he also shook his head. "Why?" 

"Carol's tracking down a tape of it, but apparently some actor who went on the show to promote his latest movie said he's thinking about running for governor. Leno asked him if that was an announcement and he called it a 'testing of the waters'. He's putting together an exploratory committee." 

"Which actor was it?" Josh asked. 

"C.J.," Donna poked her head in. "Carol's looking for you. Maxwell with the AP's on the phone, she says it's urgent." 

C.J. took off with out a word or a backward glance, or, Toby realized, answering Josh's question. Josh apparently realized it too and called out to Donna. "Donna, do you watch Leno?" 

"Josh," she answered, sounding mildly exasperated, "sometimes I don't even get home until Leno's over." 

"So I suppose you didn't watch last night?" 

"That'd be correct," she replied and headed back to her desk. 

"We gotta find us a candidate," Toby said. "This could turn into a race of name recognition instead of issues or leadership ability if we don't watch it." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"He announced." 

Josh walked into Toby's office and plopped down on the couch. "Mr. Action Star announced this afternoon in Sunny California that he is indeed going to run for governor. It was reported on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and Access Hollywood just did a piece on it. What'dya wanna bet it'll be on Entertainment Tonight?" 

"You watched Access Hollywood?" Toby asked, his eyebrows dangerously high. 

"No," he shot back. "C.J. has interns and she had them watching. I mean, come on, the guy announced on _Leno_ that he'd put together an exploratory committee. He's a movie star, the entertainment industry's gonna be abuzz over this. His campaign's going to be like a movie press tour on acid. I can see it now." 

Toby scratched his beard with his thumb in reflection. "You know, he's a Republican, and with what happened out in Texas with districts being redrawn we've got two states with huge electorates that could go Republican in the next election." 

"Why do you think they pushed so hard for the recall?" Josh asked grumpily. "It was a Republican leading the initial recall effort." 

"Josh," Ginger knocked on the door. "Donna's looking for you. Sam's on the phone." 

Josh looked up in interest, then looked over at Toby. "Do you want to talk to him too? She could transfer it over here." 

Toby shook his head. "I don't want to listen to a one-sided conversation. Besides, I've got to go over some notes with Will. If Sam wants to talk to me transfer him when you're done, or just tell him I'll see him when he gets home." 

Josh smiled, thinking that Toby probably did want to talk to him, but was playing aloof gruff about the whole thing. "Okay." 

He hurried down the halls to his office, grinning at Donna as he practically flew past her. He grabbed the phone before he was even in his chair and punched the line. "Sam, buddy. How's Europe?" 

_"It's great." He could hear Sam's smile through the phone._

"Where'd you go?" 

_"Well, we first flew to Spain," Sam said. "We went to Barcelona and got married there."_

"What?!" Josh yelped, snapping upright in his chair. "You got married? What made you guys suddenly decide to do that?" 

_Sam hesitated briefly before saying, "Well..."_

"You planned to do it all along," he surmised. "Didn't you?" 

_"We did," his friend admitted. "I wanted Kathleen to have a wedding that was what she wanted, without a lot of stress. She's had enough of it lately."_

"She deserved to be happy, Sam. You both did. I'm happy for you guys, though I'll admit I'm sad I missed it." 

_Sam sighed regretfully. "We know. We knew people would be disappointed so we've resigned ourselves to a huge reception. Kathleen's mother is already planning it, and my mother declared that whenever we come to California she's putting on a party for us, too. We'll be home in a week and I'm sure it won't be too long after that before Sylvia will have it all ready."_

"So, wait, you'll be back in a week?" he clarified, the mention of California doing laps in his brain. 

_"Yep."_

"Well, Toby and I have been thinking about your future, and I think we've come up with the perfect thing for you." 

_"Okay," he said, sounding a bit surprised and maybe apprehensive. "Kathleen and I will be curious to hear what you've come up with."_

"Then we'll see you in a week, buddy. Tell Kathleen congratulations." 

He hung up, smiling broadly as he walked out to Donna's desk. She looked up curiously at him, "What'd Sam have to say?" 

"He and Kathleen got married in Barcelona," Josh told her. "And I think I figured out the solution to the problem in California." 

Then he walked off in search of Toby. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"We can be such idiots sometimes." 

Toby looked up; already fighting a headache from the speech he was trying to iron out with Will. "What?" 

"California," Josh said, sitting down in a visitor's chair across from his desk. "We've been trying to figure out who we could ask to run, who we could afford to ask to give up their seat or office they already had when we had the perfect candidate all along." 

"Josh," Toby sighed, "I'm not following." 

"Sam," he said. "Sam wants to run for an office. He said he wanted to talk with us about where he should go and on what level. Well, this is what he should do." 

"Run for governor of California?" 

"Exactly," the other man nodded enthusiastically. "He's a resident, he grew up there, he's worked for the White House for four years, and he knows policy and how to get things done. Plus, he's not connected to the current governor in any way. He's a viable Democrat who can go up against this movie star and not let people just get swept up in name recognition but will force a real debate on the issues." 

By now Toby was catching Josh's vision. "Yes. When he was in the run-off campaign he talked about the energy problems the state was facing. That's a major reason listed for the recall, the governor's poor handling of the shortages and blackouts. Sam's already on record for what he'd do." 

"So, this is why he should do it. He's got as good a chance as any of the people circulating petitions." 

"Better than many of them," Toby shook his head. "He's qualified, there's no doubt about it. The question is, do you think he'll agree?" 

Josh cocked his head to the side. "We've got a week before Sam and Kathleen get back from their honeymoon, that gives us time to get our argument together." 

Toby paused for a second then asked. "Did you say honeymoon?" 

The other man chuckled as his eyes lit up. "They flew to Barcelona and got married. That was the whole reason behind the trip. They didn't tell anybody." 

"I imagine her mother won't react well to that news, or his for that matter," Toby chuckled under his breath. 

"Oh no," Josh smirked. "Sylvia Donovan is already planning a huge reception for them. We'll all be invited of course." 

"But we should do something here," C.J. said. "Something the President can attend without causing a huge Secret Service nightmare." 

"Hey, C.J.," Josh grinned. 

"Hello, Joshua," she near growled before whapping him on the back of the head. "I cannot believe you didn't get me for this meeting. I had to hear from Donna that Sam got married. Now, give me details, but also tell me about Sam being the answer to California's problem?" 

Toby smiled at his friend, already envisioning Sam's campaign. "We think Sam should run for governor." 


	15. Candidate Seaborn 15

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"Relax," Sam laughed, looking over at Kathleen as he pulled the car into the parking lot. 

She looked over at him and snorted. "Relax. You know what they're doing, right?" 

"They invited us to come for a little late gathering," he nodded. 

"Little gathering," she scoffed under her breath. "It's in the Residence. It's nine o'clock. The President's going to be there." 

"You've met the President," he pointed out as they climbed out of the car. 

"Donna said the First Lady will be there too." 

"You met the First Lady at her birthday last year," he countered. 

"Can you just accept the fact that this freaks me out a little bit?" she huffed on a small laugh. "You worked here, you've been in the Residence; well I haven't. All I can think about is if this is a formal sit down dinner I'm going to be worrying about which fork to use when." 

He took her hand, stopping them as they walked to the door. "Okay, okay, I understand. Ainsley Hayes in the Counsel's Office was the same way. I thought she would hyperventilate. I understand it's a little overwhelming, the mystique and aura and all that. But I promise you, no one, least of all the President or Mrs. Bartlet, is going to watch you eat or try to make you feel uncomfortable." 

"Well, hopefully they at least won't yell like my mother," she sighed as she allowed Sam to start them towards the building again. "Or look at us with thinly veiled disappointment." 

"Like your mother." 

"Yeah. That is one meeting I am glad is over with. Thankfully my dad calmed her down." 

"As soon as she heard we had pictures and that her baby got to travel around Europe...that kinda helped," Sam smiled, opening the door for her. "Evening, Brad." 

"Good evening, Mr. Seaborn," the guard smiled. Then he turned to Kathleen. "Good evening, Mrs. Seaborn." 

"Good evening," she smiled at him, still in that giddy phase over hearing herself referred to as Mrs. Seaborn. Sam had once asked if she wanted to keep her maiden name, but she had wanted to change it. Maybe that made her old fashioned, she didn't really care or think about it. She liked hearing _Mrs. Seaborn_. 

"I've got your visitor's passes right here," the guard told them. "Mr. Lyman will meet you over at the Residence, he was a little delayed." 

Sam led them through the building until they were back outside and heading towards the residence portion of the White House. As they stepped inside Josh was there, smiling broadly at them. He hugged each one close, "Welcome back." 

"Hey, Josh," Sam smiled. "Has Donna been hiding your food or something? You're looking kinda thin there." 

Josh just shook his head as he led them to the elevator. "She's trying to turn me into a rabbit or something. You know, that was quite the stunt you two pulled. Everyone was surprised, and a lot of the people around here were sad they missed it." 

"We've got pictures," Kathleen said, hoping that would quell the disappointment. "We brought them with us tonight so people can look at them." 

"I know they'll be excited to look at them," Josh smiled. 

As they walked through the halls getting close to where Josh was leading them, Kathleen could feel her stomach tensing slightly. Despite what Sam said, she would give just about anything to not have to do this. Josh opened a door and she saw a moderate group of people, Sam's former collogues and their assistants, standing in the room. Food and cake were laid out on a buffet table with several other smaller tables set up around the room. Sam looked over at her and squeezed her hand while smiling as if reading her mind. Maybe with a less formal setting this evening wouldn't be so bad after all. 

President Bartlet and the First Lady led the chorus of "Welcome Home" and then the President stepped forward. "Sam and Kathleen, welcome back. And may I be the first to say congratulations. That was a rather good surprise you pulled there and we are very happy for you. So come on in and enjoy the food. Everyone, I'm sure is anxious to talk to you." 

Sam slid his hand around to settle it on Kathleen's waist and they smiled as everyone clapped. Sam led them forward, accepting well wishes from others in passing as they made their way towards the President and his wife. Kathleen knew they would talk to them first; one just didn't ignore the President. 

"Sam," Mrs. Bartlet smiled at him. "Congratulations. And, Kathleen, we're very happy for you." 

"Yes we are," the President said. "I'm sure there will be more formal toasts later, so for now just enjoy." 

"You better find someone else to talk to before he gives you a history lesson on the origins of toasting," Mrs. Bartlet laughed, as she took her husband's hand and slowly lead him over towards Leo. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Later that evening Sam stood talking to Leo and Mallory, all the while aware of Josh and Toby hovering about as they had been since he and Kathleen arrived. She was across the room sitting at a table with C.J. and Donna looking at the pictures, while many of the others were starting to filter out. A table in the corner of the room was covered in presents and curiously Sam wondered if they'd all fit in their car, or their apartment. 

Leo excused himself to talk to the President about a matter and Sam flashed a brief smile at Mallory. She smiled back, "I just wanted to say congratulations, Sam, I'm very happy for you." 

"Thank you, Mallory. How's your class going? Have you guys had spring break yet?" 

"That's next week," she shook her head and glanced down at her watch. "I should probably go since I do have school tomorrow." 

"Yeah, probably frowned on for the teacher to fall asleep in class," he chuckled. "Thanks for coming by." 

She nodded and hugged him briefly. "Take care, Sam. Tell Kathleen I said goodnight." 

Mallory had barely left to tell her father goodnight when Josh was suddenly at his side. "Great. We've caught you alone. Come on." 

Sam followed him across the room to where the trio of women was sitting and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Leo looking up and crossing the room to join them along with the President and Mrs. Bartlet. 

"Josh," Leo said in soft warning. "Let Sam and Kathleen enjoy their night." 

"We have," he protested. "Besides, we have everyone together here, it's the perfect time to lay it out and at least get him thinking about it." 

Sam waved his hand through the air, brushing away Leo's concerns. "We figured they'd tell us tonight." 

"We're curious about what they've come up with for Sam," Kathleen added, turning in her seat. "So, what is it?" 

"Have you heard anything about what's going on out in California?" Toby asked, starting what Sam was sure was a well laid out proposal. 

"I heard a little about it on BBC, and then caught some more of it on CNN when we got back. There's a recall drive against the governor," Sam said. He knew some of what was happening, but hadn't followed it _that_ closely. 

"Well you've got the overview," Toby said. "It looks like the recall will be successful, but the real interesting part comes with who's running to replace him." 

"Everybody's come out of the woodwork. Libertarians, Communists, child actors, porn starts, and a big name Hollywood star has thrown his hat into the ring," Josh said, a sneer coming into his voice. 

"We did catch that," Kathleen said. 

"Here's the thing," Toby jumped in, shooting a look at Josh. "You know what the Republicans did out in Texas." 

"Redrew the districts," Sam nodded his head. "Making it easier for Republicans to get elected and fazing some Democrats right out of their districts." 

"Exactly," Josh nodded. "And if this movie star gets elected out there in California, it could give the Republicans a stronger hold. Especially in national elections-" 

"I get it, Josh," Sam interrupted. He was begining to see where Josh and Toby were leading with all this. 

Josh paused for a moment, looking thrown off his game as Sam stopped him from getting a full head of steam on his argument. So Toby stepped in and simply stated. "We think you should run for governor, Sam." 

And so there it was. Josh and Toby's plan. He looked at Kathleen sitting next to C.J. and then to Leo standing beside the President. 

Leo cleared his throat softly. "I agree with them. You're a strong Democrat who's not tied to the energy crisis and the aftermath that brought this on." 

"The people of the state know your name from the run-off," C.J. pointed out. "You've got a wide range of appeal, even if it didn't translate well in Orange County." 

"And," the President finally entered himself in the discussion, "this time the DNC and the DTrippleC will give you more support. I've already spoken to Charles personally." 

Sam swallowed and looked over at Kathleen now sitting back in her seat looking slightly in awe. "I...I don't know what to say." 

The President waved his hand. "Don't say anything right now. You need to think about it. You and Kathleen need to talk it over. Just give it some thought, don't rush the decision. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the evening. Unfortunately Leo and I need to go; we need to make some calls to Japan. Congratulations again, Sam and Kathleen." 

"Thank you, Mr. President," Sam said as Kathleen stood to say goodbye to him. 

When the Bartlets and Leo were gone, Sam sat down beside Kathleen and looked around at the rest of his friends. He opened his mouth, but C.J. shook her head to silence him. "The President's right. Think about it a little while. Let's not talk about it right now. We have food, we have wine and we have cake, let's just enjoy tonight and deal with decisions later." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"So, do you think he'll do it?" Josh asked around a mouthful of cake. 

"Josh," C.J. chided as her nose wrinkled. "What, are you six?" 

"I think he'll do it," Toby said, sitting on the couch in her office with a cigar in his hand. "He had the same look in his eyes he did when he talked about the run-off. He's intrigued, but he's a bit wary of it." 

"He'll do it," C.J. agreed, picking almonds out of the dish of mixed nuts she'd taken from the reception party. "They'll talk about it, he'll spend a night or two thinking about it, but he will...he'll call one of you two up and tell you he's ready." 

"Have you started looking into those names Leo got?" Josh asked, this time without the spray of cake across C.J.'s floor. 

Toby nodded and C.J. peered at them curiously. "What names?" 

"Names for who's going to run Sam's campaign, who's gonna start the petitions around the state." 

"Wait," she leaned forward. "You're going to turn Sam over to some unknown again? Uh-uh. I won't let you. Now quit screwing around with me and tell me which one of you is going." 

"Going?" Josh asked. 

"You two have probably already talked about this, so come on, tell me what you've decided." 

When they both stared back at her she made a squeak of disbelief and shook her head roughly. "I don't believe you. How do you think the President got to where he is today? Is it because his good friend Leo said 'I think you should run for President' and then handed him over to some nameless guy? No! Leo was by his side very step of the way. Now you two better figure out which one of you is going to run Sam's campaign, or I'll quit and run it myself." 


	16. Candidate Seaborn 16

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

Toby looked up when someone knocked on his door and he blinked when he saw Sam standing there. He was dressed in that sleek, casual look Sam carried so well, the same look that had caused Toby not to take him seriously at the beginning. He remembered telling Leo that he couldn't work with a kid who looked like a clothes model. Now he wished he had Sam back, instead of trying to get him to head off to California. 

"Hey, Sam," he said, a twinkle in his eye belying the gruff look on his face. "I thought Josh said you were coming in later. He's not back from his meeting with the Energy Department." 

Sam came into his office, closing the door partially but not all the way, and sat down across from his desk. "I came a little early because I wanted to talk to you." 

Toby was surprised and set his pen down on his desk. "Okay." 

"I wanted to talk to you about California," Sam began. "First, I have to thank you for all that you did. I was a little out of it after the election and I don't think I told you how much your support and help meant to me." 

He shook his head at Sam's words, just as he had at Kathleen's back at the campaign headquarters. He still felt that he had let Sam down, that he hadn't done all he could have for his friend. "Sam, you don't need to thank me. You _shouldn't_ thank me. I should have come out sooner. I should have worked harder for you instead of letting you down." 

"You didn't let me down," Sam said strongly, forcefully enough to make Toby sit back a fraction. "Kathleen told me what you said that night, and she told me what she said in reply. Who do you think I agree with?" 

Toby chuckled slightly and Sam smiled. "You let me be me, Toby. And you kept me from being embarrassed in a complete blow-out. I can't...I can't tell you how much I appreciate all you did." 

Sam paused and leaned forward. "Kathleen and I have spent the last couple of days talking. She's packing up our apartment for our move permanently to California." 

"You're going to do it," he smiled, at Sam who was looking up at him with a mischievous glint. 

"I've been watching the news and reading the paper," Sam said with a shake of his head. "I don't want this to be all about name or glitz-factor. This is the place I grew up. I'm not saying only a native is fit to run the state, but I want more from the person running the place I hope to raise a family some day." 

Toby's grin twitched wider through his beard. "You don't have to convince me, Sam. But if you polish that up and keep that passion, you'll have a great platform for your campaign. As it was, it was a pretty good sound bite." 

"I want you to run my campaign, Toby," Sam said on a slow note after a moment's pause. "It'd be my dream to have you come out and run the thing right, right from the beginning." 

A sour lump of disappointment settled into his stomach even before Sam said, "But I know it probably wouldn't work. You need to be here for Andi, especially when the babies are only a couple months away from being born." 

"It...it means more than I can say that you would ask me, Sam," he said sincerely. "That you would want me to run another campaign for you. But...you're right. I don't want to be away from Andi during the last part of her pregnancy. Josh and I talked about this, and we had an informal discussion with Leo...if you want him, Josh is going to quit and come work for you." 

"Hoynes wanted Josh to run his national campaign. I know he'll be great," Sam smiled. "I just wish I could have both of you." 

"You're going to do great out in California, even with Josh," Toby laughed. "And you can call any time you want, it doesn't even have to be about the campaign." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"Hey, Josh." 

He stopped and spun around as his backpack slid to the floor from his lax fingers, startled at the sound of Sam's voice. "Donna!" 

Sam laughed and Josh's scowl deepened as Donna walked into the office. "You bellowed?" 

"Donna, I said 'hello', I asked you if there were any messages for me, and you never thought to tell me that Sam was here early and waiting in my office?" 

"Sam told me not to say anything," she said simply and then turned and walked back to her desk. 

"I'm your boss," he shouted out the door while his friend just sat there and laughed. 

"Josh, relax. She just helped me surprise you." 

He sat down behind his desk and shrugged with a grin. "She expects me to do these things. She wouldn't know what to do if I didn't." 

Pausing for a moment he regarded his friend, and then jumped in with both feet." So, you said you wanted to talk when you called. Does this mean you've made a decision?" 

Sam smiled as he nodded. "I have. We're moving to California and I'm going to run for governor." 

Josh tried to be reserved, but soon gave up. He smacked his hand on his desk and smiled broadly. "Yes! You're gonna be great, Sam. You are going to show the voters out there you are exactly what they're looking for. You'll show them you have real solutions, not just flashy sound bites." 

Sam was still smiling, but it shrunk just a bit as he leaned forward. "I came in early because I wanted to talk to Toby before you got back from your meeting at the Energy Department." 

Josh forced himself to keep the smile on his face, even as he felt himself sinking in disappointment. He and Toby had talked about who was going to run Sam's campaign if he decided to go out there - despite what they'd teased C.J. about - and he now realized he hadn't thought Sam might want someone different. Josh had only been afraid he and Toby would fight about who should go with Sam, but Toby had immediately pushed Josh for the job saying he needed to stay in Washington because of the babies. But Sam had asked him to run it, maybe Toby would rethink that decision. 

"I knew that he would probably turn me down," Sam said, looking down at his clasped hands, "and he did. But I needed to ask him. I needed to ask Toby to come run my campaign because I felt that _he_ needed to be asked. Toby was as affected, or even more than I was, by the loss. You've seen it, haven't you?" 

Josh felt his shoulders relax, and he immediately knew why Sam had done what he had. It was why _he_ made his own recommendation to Leo regarding his replacement. "I've seen it," he said softly. 

Sam leaned back in his chair, flopping his arms over the side towards the floor. "In an ideal world I could have both of you and wouldn't have to choose." 

"It would be nice," Josh agreed. "Will you be okay with me running your campaign? C.J.'d probably do it if you asked her." 

His friend shook his head. "I want you with me, Josh. You would have run Hoynes' campaign if Leo hadn't recruited you. Bad for Hoynes, good for me. Because if you hadn't believed in President Bartlet enough to come get me, none of this would have happened. I want you beside me from the beginning, because I intend to win this." 

Josh smiled and opened his desk drawer silently. He pulled out the letter that was already typed, filled in the necessary date and signed his name. He slid it into an envelope and then stood. "Come on." 

Sam stood. "Where are we going?" 

"I've got to formally resign. And then I better get on an airplane and get out to California. We've got some petitions we've got to start circulating and a campaign to organize." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam walked slowly behind Josh as they headed towards Leo's office. It was strange to be here as a visitor now, to see everyone moving about with purpose and hurry in their steps and know that he was no longer a part of it. The other night when he was here with Kathleen really hadn't pressed the idea home that he was now just a guest in a place he'd worked for four years. Now he felt like a kid tagging along after his big brother at work. 

"Is he in?" Josh asked Margaret when they reached her office. 

"He is, go on in," she nodded. "Hi, Sam." 

"Hello, Margaret," he smiled, then followed after Josh. 

Leo looked up and slipped off his glasses as Sam joined Josh in front of the desk. "Josh. Sam." 

Josh handed over the envelope and his voice was low and slightly thick as he said, "I'm making it official. Sam's made his decision and I'm going to go with him." 

Leo took the letter and set it down, then walked around the desk. "Sam, you've made a great choice. Both in running and in Josh." 

"I know," he answered. "I feel bad stealing him away, though. I'm sure he wishes he could have finished the second term-" 

Leo waved his hand through the air and cut him off. "Nobody stays forever. The only thing constant is change. This is the time for you to go out and become the next big thing. And it's time for Josh to step out there too." 

He started towards the door connecting to the Oval Office and motioned for them to follow him. They went obediently. Knocking, Leo opened the door and stepped inside, "Mr. President? Sam and Josh are here." 

"Come in, come in," the President said as he stood and walked around his desk. "So, you've decided?" 

"Yes, sir," Sam smiled in response to the President's exuberant expression. "I'm going to run." 

"Of course you are," President Bartlet nodded as he sat down in his traditional chair near the couch. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the draw of it all, I just wanted you to think about it and make sure this was the right race for you." 

"I'm sure," Sam said. "Kathleen and I have talked about it and she agrees." 

"That's good. It helps a great deal to have the support of your family behind you because they're involved in the campaign just as much as you. So, Josh is with you," he said. "Am I correct in assuming I'm going to lose him to your campaign?" 

Sam nodded. "I've asked him to run it for me." 

He shifted on the couch and avoided looking at Leo as he said, "I asked Toby first. I knew with Andi's pregnancy and the babies just a couple of months away from being born that he'd probably say no, but I needed to make the offer. He needed to know that someone still believes him in and doesn't think he's washed up." 

The corner of the President's mouth twitched as he looked over at Leo before looking back to Sam. "Nicely done there, Sam. You certainly have all the makings of a statesman." 

"That wasn't-" 

"Yes, it was," Leo interrupted without anger or bitterness. "And it's a testament to your friendship. Toby is looking for a change, and we agree. We're going to offer him Josh's position. It will allow him to move more into policy which is what he's been asking for." 

"He's been writing words for me to say for over four years, you know it's a tough job. And despite what he may think," the President said, "I don't want to lose him." 

Sam only let a small grin tease his lips, but inside he was a grinning fool. He knew how easy it was to become disillusioned sometimes while working here, and how it felt to be on the outside of things. While Toby was by no means being shut out of meetings, Sam knew his former boss was feeling discouraged. If he couldn't bring Toby out to California, he wanted to do what he could for his friend here. 

He was able to relax a bit more and settle back against the couch. This would be a big transition for everyone, but he felt better about it now. And he was anxious to get out to California and get everything started.


	17. Candidate Seaborn 17

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

When Kathleen heard the door open, she practically flew out of the bedroom. Sam's arrival home would spare her from the mundane, but monstrous, task of organizing their belongings for the move to California. She'd packed up what she and Sam would need until their belongings arrived on the truck. The movers were coming the next day but by then, Sam would be on an airplane. 

They had kept the apartment he rented for the run-off campaign and Sam had talked to the complex's owner about getting a bigger place. A townhouse unit had opened up, so he would be moving their stuff between apartments in California, while she finished up in Washington and got their place ready to sell. Then she would join him and help on the campaign. 

"Hi," she smiled as she gave him a quick kiss. Turning, she smiled at Josh. "Hi, Josh." 

He grinned and held up the white plastic sacks he was carrying. "Hey, Kathleen. We brought dinner." 

"You're a life saver," she sighed. "I was not looking forward to trying to figure out what to have. There isn't much food here since we were gone for the campaign and then Europe. So what'd you bring?" 

He looked around for a place to set the food down and finally set it on the coffee table Sam moved a couple boxes off of. "Hamburgers. Donna wasn't around to scold us." 

She shook her head and laughed as she sat down on the floor and reached for the container Josh handed her. Sam handed cans of soda to everyone, one of the few things they had in the apartment, and then joined Kathleen and Josh. The smell of the burger elicited a growl from her stomach and she opened the Styrofoam contain and smiled appreciatively at the thick sandwich and steak cut fries. 

"So, how'd it go?" she asked Sam. 

"Really good," he smiled before taking a bite. After chewing he added, "Josh is going to come out and run the campaign. He turned in his resignation today." 

She grinned over at her husband's friend. "Ready to move out to sunny California?" 

"For Sam? Sure," he replied. "I believe in him so much I'd follow him to Gnome, Alaska if I had to." 

Sam shifted in a bit of embarrassment, but she knew Josh was sincere. While Toby had been of enormous help to Sam and she knew he wished he could have both his friends with him, they all knew it wasn't possible. And she also knew that Sam would be very happy to have his friend with him, and if Sam won, Kathleen knew Josh would be on the staff. 

Putting her burger down, she wiped her fingers on her napkin. "Did you talk to Toby?" 

"I did," Sam nodded, setting his own food down. "He turned me down like I expected, but I think it helped. I think Josh and the others' plan will help really help him find the direction he's looking for." 

She arched her brow at the two men. "Tell me." 

"He's been looking for more involvement in policy direction," Josh said. "I've recommended him as my replacement." 

"That'll be good," she said. She been as concerned as Sam was by Toby's dejection after the election. He had really dropped the dourness she'd seen come over him in his job when he was in California. That week he was out there he was smiling more, and he seemed energetic and enthused again. She wanted him to keep that attitude, and she hoped with this new position he would. She could see the same thoughts echoed in Sam by the small smile and encouraging wink he gave her. 

"So when are you going to go out to California, Josh?" 

"Same flight as Sam tomorrow," he answered. "I'll pack up the stuff I need tonight, and figure out the rest later. We've got to get moving on the petitions to make sure we have enough signatures in time for the deadline. Leo's already made some calls and we'll have a skeleton staff starting tomorrow." 

"Wow." 

"They're not messing around this time," Sam told her. "Leo began making calls and lining up support as soon as we left the Oval after talking to the President." 

Josh pointed a finger at Sam as he held his hamburger dripping with onions. "The state's party leaders are very excited about him running because they know the lieutenant governor isn't going to be able to get out from under the governor's shadow. And Mr. Movie Star has them worried about the state going Republican in the next national election." 

They continued eating and talking about plans for California, Josh and Sam dominating most of the conversation. So when someone knocked on the door as Kathleen was up throwing away the garbage, she welcomed the distraction. Even if it was probably just the neighbor's kid selling something for school. Opening the door she blinked in surprise when she saw Donna standing there. "Donna. Hi." 

"Hi," the blonde smiled back a bit tentatively. "I hope I'm not interrupting." 

"No, no. Come on in. We were finished with dinner and Josh and Sam are in there going over strategies and issues for the campaign. Not that they don't have a whole plane ride to do that," she said with a roll of her eyes. "But you know them." 

"I was hoping Josh would be here," Donna said. "I wanted to talk with both him and Sam." 

"Sure," Kathleen said, curious as to what brought Donna by. "Go on in." 

Donna walked into where Sam and Josh were talking and both looked up, curious at her appearance. "Hey, Donna," Sam smiled. "What brings you by?" 

"I wanted to talk to you and Josh," she said, standing nervously before them as they sat on the floor looking up at her. "Josh quit to run your campaign, right? Well, I want to help out, too." 

"What?" Josh asked, a bit behind the conversation and where Kathleen surmised it was going. 

"But," she said, "I _don't_ want to just work as Josh's assistant. I want to actually work on the campaign. I want to do something important, not just fetch coffee for everyone and answer phones." 

"I think it's a great idea," Kathleen said, sitting next to Sam and squeezing his shoulder. 

"Me too," Sam nodded. "You've worked for Josh for four years, I think you could handle more than coffee and filing." 

"Not that she ever brought me coffee," Josh grumped. 

"I'm positive we can find a place for you where you'll find the challenge you're looking for," Sam grinned at her. "Welcome to the campaign." 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam sat on the couch and watched as Kathleen moved around the living room picking up a few things and looking at, and talking about, what would need to be packed the next day. Josh and Donna had left, Josh heading off to pack for the flight tomorrow and Donna to her own apartment. She was going to put in two weeks to help the transition of Josh leaving and pack up her things, and then she'd join them in California. 

He looked at Kathleen and knew part of her _inventory-taking_ was an avoidance tactic. He'd given her several looks during the even as they'd talked about their plans for the campaign, but she'd merely shrugged or ignored them. Finally, he stood and walked over to her, taking her hand and led her to the bedroom. He needed to attempt to get _some_ sleep before tomorrow and they could talk as they got ready for bed. 

She stood by her dresser and looked at him uneasyly as he stood by his side of the bed. "Are you mad at me? About Donna?" 

"Mad?" he asked, not expecting her to say that. "No. I was a little surprised she asked, and a little curious at your immediate endorsement of the idea. You're not trying to play matchmaker are you?" 

"No," she said instantly, and almost a little bit offended. "I am not Emma Woodhouse. Honestly, that was the last thing on my mind. To me it would be the most wonderful thing in the world if Donna met someone who saw - and recognized - how wonderful she was and swept her off her feet. I don't care if she and Josh date or find someone else. I was thinking only of her and her career." 

He sat down on the bed, pulling off his socks and shoes. "Her career? She had a pretty good job in the White House." 

She looked at him, as if knowing he was playing Devil's advocate and decided to go along with it. "Yes, she did. But it's a job and not a career. She doesn't want to be an assistant for the rest of her life. She wants more. Any fool could see that. You and the others have talked about how you all joined President Bartlet's first campaign. So I know how she showed up and hired herself and that whole story. Working for Josh has been great and has taught her a lot, but she wants to do more." 

"You said 'do more' twice," he teased her and she just shook her head and playfully shoved him as he was putting his clothes in the hamper. 

"The reason she had that meeting with the Communist farm worker out in California was because she wanted to prove to Josh, and ultimately the others, that she could handle more responsibility. She was more than simply worried that she caused you to fire MiniScott, she was disappointed that she'd messed up and failed in her attempt." 

He smiled at her, reaching out to push her hair back from her face before cradling her jaw. "You saw all that with your hangover?" 

"I listened," she corrected him. "She rambled quite a bit. So when she showed up and asked to join the campaign I wanted her to have that chance." 

Drawing her forward, he kissed her and then stepped back. "I get it now. And I agree that she can do so much more than listen to Josh's bellows." 

She smiled and nodded as she continued getting ready for bed. "Josh will just have to learn to get alone without Donna at his elbow taking care of him. He's a big boy, he needs to act like it." 

"That could be easier said than done," he laughed, knowing that Josh was capable of it, his friend just wouldn't like it. 

"I think she's going to be great," Kathleen said around her toothbrush. "I'm even thinking that if you win I might ask her to be on my staff." 

Sam marveled a bit that she was able to say all of that without dribbling toothpaste out of her mouth and that he could understand her. But as his wife finished up in the bathroom he thought of how much Donna had changed in the four years he'd known her. She had been looking for a new start when she first joined them in New Hampshire. At times she was still that nervous woman, but she _had_ grown. She hadn't hemmed or hawed over her request; she came right over after work and told him she wanted to join his campaign. 

He still couldn't help thinking how Josh was going to react to the whole thing, but maybe a little change would be good for his friend. While Donna had asked for more responsibility, Josh had been reluctant to give it her. This way forced the issue and he could help insure that Josh didn't suck her back in as his right arm without letting her really do anything. And, casting a glance at the bathroom, while his wife wasn't going to play matchmaker - and neither was he - he wouldn't be upset if this helped his blind best friend open his eyes and see Donna in a new light. 

"You know, I had a horrible thought," Kathleen said as she turned off the bathroom light and got into bed. "Amy wouldn't try to join the campaign, would she?" 

"Go outside right now, turn around and spit," he commanded her, his stomach souring and twisting at the awful thought. "Do not even bring that kind-of bad luck my way." 

She stood there for a moment, then began to laugh. "Funny, Sam." 

He stood, his face etched in stone. "I'm serious. No, I don't think Amy will come. She doesn't exactly like me too much and knows the feeling is mutual, but don't curse me here, Kathleen. Go. There's a time limit on this kinda thing before you're cursed forever." 

"Are you serious?" she gaped at him as he pushed her out of the bedroom and down the hall. "Sam. Sam, I am wearing one of your shirts and nothing else." 

"Here's your coat," he said as he handed it to her. "You can slip on my shoes. You'll be fine." 

"You're nuts," she shrieked, her eyes wide as he opened the door. 

"You can do it on the steps right outside the building. But it has to be outside. Go." 

Then he shut the door and leaned against it when she tried to open it. Finally he head her huff and when he looked through the peep hole she was disappearing down the hallway. She wasn't going to be happy when she came back inside, but he'd make it up to her. He'd warm her up, as well as give her something to remember until she got to California. 


	18. Candidate Seaborn 18

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

_"Today in California another candidate threw his hat into the race for governor. The new person is none other than former White House Deputy Director of Communications Sam Seaborn, who just a couple of months ago narrowly lost to Representative Chuck Webb in the run-off election for California's 47th District. His campaign is being run by Josh Lyman who quit as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Bartlet. Mr. Seaborn announced his candidacy on the steps of the high school he attended in southern California with his wife and his mother beside him..."_

Josh hit the mute button and watched as Wolf Blitzer continued to chatter on. A clip of Sam's speech from earlier that afternoon was played and over the phone he heard Toby chuff. He knew Toby had seen the report before, he knew without even asking that Toby and the others had watched the announcement live. Josh had someone in the campaign office taping the coverage, and all subsequent commentary by the talking heads immediately afterwards and through the afternoon and evening. He wanted to get an immediate read on how the announcement was going to play, especially in California. 

_"Wolf's quite into this announcement," Toby said with a half-growl, half-chuckle. "What's the reaction there in the state?"_

"We've got workers in the major cities, on the coast and in land, to see how it's playing out on the news. We'll know better tomorrow what the tone's like, but so far it seems if positive, or at least neutral. Nobody seems negative about the thing. And Joey's coming in next week to run some polls." 

_"She giving you an in-state discount?"_

Josh just laughed, relieved that Toby was less bear-like in the last couple of weeks than he had been before Josh left. The questions and comments he was making sounded gruff and sometimes grouchy, but he was genuinely interested in and happy for Sam's campaign. Josh was used to his method of expression and wasn't put off by anything. "She likes me," he said. "But she also likes Sam, especially since she lives here." 

There'd be a lot of time to discuss Sam's campaign later; they had over two months of campaigning to talk about the minutia of the process and what was happening with Sam. Right now Josh wanted to find out how the transition was going back in Washington. "So, how are things back there?" 

_"Good," Toby said and Josh wondered how reticent his friend was going to be to get talking. "Donna was great in training Ginger. It's..."_

"Different?" 

_"Yeah, a little...it's also a little daunting. I sat in with you in a lot of meetings-"_

"But it's different when you're sitting in the chair yourself, when you're not the second guy," Josh said, knowing what Toby was trying to say. "But you can do it. You were ready to get more hands on in policy making." 

_"I like it," Toby said, his voice changing slightly. "The meetings are different."_

Josh knew that this would be about as much as he could pull out of his friend and rather than continue to push, he decided to move on to another subject. One outside of politics, one he knew would get his former co-worker happy and talking. "How is Andi doing?" 

_"She's doing well," his friend said with a smile in his voice. "She's starting to tire a bit more easily though she tries to deny it."_

"How about the babies? Everything still going well?" 

_"Healthy as could be," Toby said. "We had another sonogram and the doctor says they're good."_

Josh smiled into the phone in response to the good news and Toby's enthusiasm. "That's great to hear. We're all really excited for you and you better have someone call us the minute she has them." 

_"Ginger's got the order," he promised. "Now enough of this. Come on, tell me how it's going. Are you going to invite the guy into a debate?"_

"Not right away," Josh shook his head. "We want to establish Sam on his own, get his stand on the issues out there. Then once we show Sam's views, then we'll really show how he's different from this guy and everyone else." 

_"That's good," Toby agreed. "The people in Orange County already know his stance on a lot of issues. Now you gotta get it statewide. But many may already know some of it from the first election."_

"It does give us a bit of a jump," Josh confirmed. "We aren't starting out cold. You helped us out a lot there, Toby." 

Though the campaign might be a bit behind the other many others time wise, Josh knew that could be made up easily. Contributions and donations were coming in at a rapid, and generous pace, and Sam's war chest was going to allow them to get his message out to everybody. Even when the petitions were still being circulated, they'd had reporters already asking questions about policies and issues from the race in the 47th. Sam had sat down with several major newspapers in the afternoon after the election and more interviews were lined up. 

They were taking full advantage of the situation so they could introduce Sam state wide. They had to appeal to people who may have already started to lean towards Mr. Action based on name recognition alone, and show them there was another option. That there was someone who had true answers and not just ten word phrases that made pretty soundbites but answered nothing. They'd done it nationally against Ritchie, and Josh was determined to do it here in California. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam smiled as he walked out of the room, still shaking people's hands and listening to the words they called after him. Josh and another campaign worker were waiting for him, trying to move him along without seeming rude. He knew Josh was trying to keep them on schedule, but Sam wanted to thank the people for coming and show them that he was listening to their concerns. So for the moment he was ignoring Josh's none-too-subtle gestures to get into the car. 

Finally he made his way out of the room and the building and scrambled to keep up when Josh hooked his arm through his and walked with him to get into the car. "We've got forty-five minutes to drive an hour to your dinner with The Conservation League. And that's not taking into account traffic so we're definitely going to be late." 

"You know," Josh said as the car pulled away from the curb. "You're just like the President. Never met a rope line you couldn't resist." 

"It wasn't a rope line. I was leaving the room." 

"Same difference," his friend muttered. 

Sam glared at Josh for a moment, but decided to skip the lecture on how that grammatically incorrect phrase drove him nuts. "I didn't want to just rush by these people who came to see me. I wanted to hear what they had they thought about the issues, what they liked about the speech. By the way, you owe me five bucks. That section on early childhood education and development was one of the biggest draws. It wasn't too much and I told you we needed to keep it." 

"Yeah, okay," Josh said, opening up his portfolio and yanking out a five from underneath the clip. "I was only concerned we'd be saying too much in a short period of time. It's a good topic, I agree we need to talk about it, I just didn't want us to drown them with too much too soon." 

"Fair enough," he shrugged. Neither man was mad, or really cared. It was just fun to tease each other. 

"I really liked the sections of the speech Nick wrote," he said, shifting gears. "They flowed and were easy to say without sounding too simplistic. I want to keep him on the writing staff. Brian though, we've got to work with him. He's got a great knowledge of stats, but his sections are dry, too stiff. Bring Rebecca in to help on those sections." 

"Okay," Josh nodded, making his notes. "Anything else from the speech?" 

Sam shook his head, and leaned back into his seat as the car merged onto the freeway. "What do you have for me?" 

Josh flipped to a new page in his notebook. "Not much, today," he said. "Joey's going to start her poll tomorrow. She said she'd probably have some preliminary numbers on Monday." 

"Okay," he murmured, the hum of the car beginning to lull him into a trance. 

"After the dinner tonight we've got you on a charter flight up to San Francisco where you'll meet with the Bar Association. And then you and Kathleen..." 

Josh trailed off and then said, "Sam?" 

"Hmmm?" 

"Okay," his friend said with a chuckle, "we'll talk about tomorrow night later. Tired?" 

"Didn't sleep well last night." 

"Kathleen was only gone for one night." 

"I've gotten soft," Sam laughed. 

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Donna said Kathleen's dragging too. But Donna also said that the preliminary meetings up in San Francisco went really well." 

"That's good," he said. He was glad that Kathleen had joined in and seemed to be enjoying the campaign so far. But most of all, he was looking forward to seeing her and sleeping next to her. He snorted as the car hit a bump; he was definitely a soft sap. 

~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"Kathleen?" 

She heard Donna's voice float into the room and she just sat there and waited. Donna would find her, and she wasn't moving at all from this spot. 

"Kathleen?" Donna called again. Then she knocked on the door that wasn't completely closed and poked her head slightly in. "Kathleen?" 

"Hey, Donna," she said weakly. 

Donna immediately frowned and then crammed herself into the small bathroom. "What's...are you okay?" 

"I think I got food poisoning," Kathleen replied. "Either that or it's something else and I just _think_ it's food poisoning. Either way it's killing me and I feel awful." 

"Did you have the chicken?" the younger woman asked, leaning against the counter. 

"Yeah," she groaned. "I honestly don't dare move." 

"Okay," Donna said. "I'll call down to the front desk. I'm sure they've got a doctor here, or can get someone to come. Do you want me to call Sam?" 

She started to shake her head, but stopped as it made her stomach dip. "No. Just get the doctor here first. No point to call Sam until we know what's going on for sure." 

"Right," Donna nodded. 

She walked back out into the main part of the hotel and Kathleen could hear her calling down to the front desk. And after a little bit Donna poked her head back into the bathroom. "The house doctor is on her way up. 

"Thank you," she said, attempting to smile. 

"Do you want to head out to the bed?" 

"Nope." 

"Okay," Donna said. "Do you want to be alone?" 

"You can stay. It'll help keep my mind off how I feel. We better cancel tonight." 

"I will when the doctor gets here," Donna told her. "Or I can go, unless you want me to stay." 

"I'll probably just be asleep. It'd be good if someone from the campaign made an appearance tonight. Just extend my apologies." 

"I'll say you came down with the flu," Donna nodded. "Probably best to not say you got food poisoning at your earlier meeting with the group." 

"Unless everyone else gets it too," she tried to manage a weak laugh. 

"This is why I never eat the chicken. Josh got sick once after eating chicken at one of these events and after hearing him talk all about how sick he was, I just don't eat it." 

"See, I ate the chicken because Sam got bad pork once. Hopefully I'll be feeling better by the time he gets here. I don't need him to be worried about this." 

"He'll be worried anyways," Donna said frankly. "That's just who he is and you know it." 

"Yeah, I know," she said, leaning her head against the edge of the tub. "But he can sometimes go a little overboard and he needs to focus. If I'm up here puking my guts out still, you know that when he's down giving a speech he'll only be half there." 

A knock sounded on the front door and Donna smiled. "That'll be the doctor. I'll go get it. And hopefully she'll be able to help you. No sense worrying about tomorrow until you find out what she has to say." 

Donna walked out of the bathroom and Kathleen just closed her eyes. She was in no mood tonight for Donna's perkiness. She just wanted to wallow and be miserable for a while before she put on a brave face for Sam when he arrived. 


	19. Candidate Seaborn 19

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

Josh awoke, jackknifing up in the chair as he struggled for a moment to remember where he was. Then he sat back, the fog clearing from his mind. They were back in Long Beach and he was in his hotel room he was renting. He reached for the lamp and switched it on, before picking up his watch from the table. It was just after four in the morning and he knew he wouldn't be getting more sleep, especially after coming wide awake thinking he'd forgotten a campaign stop they were supposed to be at. 

He got up and turned on the coffee machine in the little kitchenette before heading off to the shower. By the time he got out the coffee would be ready and that would keep him going until his breakfast meeting with Joey later. When he climbed out of the shower several minutes later he could smell the coffee and he poured himself a cup before picking up the latest notes Sam had given him last night. He began reading over them again while he headed to the closet and pulled out his suit for the day. 

He was almost finished dressing when he heard the newspaper arrive with a muffled _whump_ against the door. Pulling his tie tight, he stepped out into the hallway and grabbed it. Unfolding it as he sat down he scanned the paper for the latest on what Mr. Movie Star's campaign had done the day before and made some mental notes. While there were officially over two dozen candidates in the race, only a couple were really reaching beyond the L.A. area. And only Sam and Mr. Movie were really reaching the whole state. 

John and Sam knew that the person they needed to beat was Armand Sebastian, and that's who they were focusing their energy on. Thanks to Leo and the President's calls, Sam's war chest was brimming. This enabled them to negate the lag time in starting behind Sebastian and catch up. Josh was hoping that when they got the latest numbers from Joey that they'd show Sam had narrowed the gap even more with Mr. Movie Star. He hoped that maybe they'd even passed the guy, but he wasn't going to get too ahead of the game. Right now it was all about the next hurdle and trying not to fall flat on their faces. 

They'd get the numbers and Joey's latest input, and then he and Sam would meet with Victor Campos, hopefully getting the man's endorsement. It would be a big boon for Sam's campaign and up their credibility in the state. Josh's main hope was that in order to get Campos' endorsement, they didn't have to give away too much or make promises that would hurt Sam's chances statewide. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam walked into his office with a smile. After hearing the latest numbers from Joey, the whole campaign was breathing a small sigh of joy and relief. They may not be polling ahead of Sebastian, but after less than a month of campaigning they were in a statistical dead heat with the man everyone had been calling the front runner. They were by no means complacent, but they were pleased by their progress. And it only encouraged them to double their efforts and keep going. 

Hopefully, this meeting with Victor Campos would give a boost to the campaign. The union leader was sitting in one of his visitor's chairs and he stood as Sam walked in with Josh following behind him. 

"Victor," Sam smiled, extending his hand. "Hola. Como esta?" 

"Bien, Sam," he replied. "Were you planning on conducting the entire meeting in Spanish? From what I remember, Josh doesn't understand much of it." 

Sam gave a small laugh as he shook his head. "No, for his sake we won't. I've just been brushing up on my Spanish." 

"Showing you're connected to my people because you can speak their language?" Campos quirked a brow. 

"No, there won't be any Kennedy-esque moments. I just felt half a step behind when I was talking with a family after an event earlier in the week. So I've been trying to speak with several of the staffers to shake the rust off and get back on my game." 

He gave a self-deprecating shrug and shook his head. "But that isn't why I asked you to come. I was glad we finally got our schedules in synch because I wanted to thank you again for all your help with the petition drive." 

"You already thanked me." 

"True," he nodded, trying to stay charming even though Campos was already beginning to irritate him by just sitting there like a cat with cream. "But that was on the phone." 

"And so you brought me down here for the personal touch," Victor surmised. "Because there is also something more." 

"There is," Josh said, joining in the conversation at just the right moment. "We do appreciate all the support earlier, but we were hoping now that we could get you to come out in a formal statement of endorsement." 

Campos sat there for a minute and then leaned back and crossed his right ankle over his left knee. "And what do I get in return?" 

"A Democratic governor," Josh said simply. Sam gave him a surreptitious look telling him not to get too flip. 

"A governor committed to education and the children of this state, all the children," Sam said, sitting back slightly and clasping his hands in his lap. "Not someone whose only comments on education talk about endorsing charter and private schools and saying that communities know their needs best." 

"And you don't think communities know their needs?" 

"Of course they do," Sam told him. "But we need a state-wide program to deal with drop-out rates. I know you're concerned about the drop-out rate among Hispanic youth, Victor. We talked about it at the White House, it wasn't just about Buckland." 

"And here I thought it was just you smacking me down, Sam." 

"It was more than that, Victor," Sam allowed just a hint of an edge to enter his voice. "And you know it." 

"Yes," the older man nodded. "I seem to remember loyalty being thrown around." 

"As well as your demands," Sam pointed out. "If you've still got a complaint with the White House, I'm sure Leo would be happy to hear your concerns. But we're talking about California." 

"Sam is committed to the state," Josh interjected. "He's spoken about education, the environment and energy. He's married and hopes to raise a family here some day. We're asking for your help to make sure this is a state where not only he, but everyone, can raise a family and get a good education for their children. An education that makes them competitive in the global market." 

"You know," Victor said slowly. "The Lieutenant Governor has also asked for my endorsement. Why should I endorse you and not him?" 

Meaning, Sam knew, why should Victor Campos, a leader in the Hispanic Community, endorse Sam over the Lt. Governor, a Latino. 

"I'll understand if you endorse him, Victor," he said, "but you and I both know his numbers are dropping. The people of this state look at him, and they see a member of a disgraced administration who did nothing when they were suffering blackouts and having their utility bills skyrocket. He can't get out of the governor's shadow and it's unlikely he will by the time of the election. His polling numbers are dropping and he's hanging onto ten percent by his fingernails and true grit. If that's who you want to endorse, then nothing I can say will change your mind." 

A small smile quirked the side of Campos' mouth. "Well, you certainly haven't lost your blunt nature. I'll have to think about this. If I endorse you I may have a few things to say about your education plan." 

"We're always willing to listen to comments and suggestions," Josh told him with a smile that belied the underlying meaning. They weren't going to roll over or be bullied for this endorsement, but they would be willing to hear Campos out. 

"I'll let you know," Victor told them. 

Sam stood and the other two men did as well. "We appreciate your coming down, Victor." 

He merely smiled and shook Sam's hand. "It was good to see you again, Sam. I was hoping to meet your wife, but Josh said she's not here." 

"She was hoping to get the opportunity to meet you," Sam told him. " But she's meeting with our workers and supporters up in Sacramento." 

"Maybe I'll get to meet her some other time." 

"I'm sure she's looking forward to it." 

He smiled and slipped his hands in his pockets as Josh walked Victor out of the room, talking about the office they'd opened up in Sacramento. When the door closed, he sighed and rubbed his forehead, then headed around the desk. Picking up the briefing notes from Peter, he sat down and skimmed through them while waiting for Josh to return. 

"Well?" Josh asked, as he walked back in and sat down. 

"I know he'll have demands, but I think he might." 

"He doesn't want to waste his time or resources, and he knows the Lieutenant Governor isn't going to truly be a viable candidate. He probably knows the numbers better than we do." 

"Probably," Sam agreed. "But he'll make us wait, so that we'll be more likely to agree to his demands. There's no sense in worrying about it." 

"Not when we have other things to deal with," Josh said, opening up his notebook and pointing to the folder in Sam's hands. "You're heading down to San Diego tomorrow, so let's go over the latest stuff. Kathleen's joining us, right?" 

"Flying down from Sacramento in the morning," Sam nodded, picking up his glasses and focusing on the folder and what Josh was saying about it. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen smiled as she got in the car. This one was small, but more genuine than the previous smile she'd worn in the campaign office. She'd come up to officially open the Sacramento office and thank and inspire the workers. Sam had originally planned to come, to press the flesh and attend a few meetings, until Josh had set up the meeting with Victor Campos. It was more important that Sam get the union leader's endorsement, and so Kathleen had gone as originally planned, being the point person instead of the supportive wife. 

She looked over at Donna who seemed to accompany her on many of her trips and quirked her brow in question. "So, what do you think?" 

"I think the Sacramento manager really knows what he's doing. Josh picked a good one." 

"Kinda sounds like we're talking about fish, or racehorses or something," Kathleen laughed. "The state party leaders like the guy and so do Sam and Josh. I just like that we're getting the numbers and support to warrant opening more offices." 

"Josh would like to open up several more it sounds like," Donna said as she closed her bag. 

"I want Sam to get what he needs to win," she said, looking out the back window of the car. She hated this process of being relegated to the backseat with drivers taking them everywhere. It brought back too many memories of family trips drugged out on Dramamine to quell the motion sickness she always got crammed into the back with her brothers, even if she did get to sit by the window. It hadn't seemed to have gone away with time, and she didn't want to arrive at places looking green and queasy so she spent most of her trips staring out the window. 

She looked over briefly at Donna who understood the car sickness and wasn't offended that she had to talk to the back of Kathleen's head, or that Kathleen in turn spoke to her reflection in the window. "Do you want to run an office?" 

"No," Donna shook her head, almost immediately. "I like being in the headquarters, working there with Sam and Josh. I like coming out on these things with you." 

"I'm glad," Kathleen smiled. "'Cause it helps having you here, and you did a great job in San Francisco representing the campaign." 

"I think it helped that the numbers were small since others got food poisoning too," the younger woman laughed. "Less people to have to embarrass myself in front of." 

"I'm never eating the chicken again. There's something else on the menu in San Diego, right?" 

"Josh wrangled good old-fashioned beef." 

"Bless the man and his beef obsession," Kathleen couldn't help but laugh. 

Donna joined in as she said, "It comes in handy. Plus, I think nobody wants to be the group that makes the candidate sick." 

"You know, we seem stuck on food," Kathleen shook her head at the queasy feeling that was increasing. "So, let's talk about who I'm meeting with in San Diego." 

Donna pulled her pad of paper from her purse and flipped a couple of pages forward. "I made some notes. Do you want the long version or the short version?" 

Either one was long, but Kathleen said, "How 'bout the version in between." 


	20. Candidate Seaborn 20

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

>"Did you ever have days like this?" 

Toby looked up as C.J. sat down and he stared at her in befuddlement. "Days like what?" 

"Days where you wanted to walk into the press room and pull me off the podium?" 

Toby sighed and rubbed his beard. "Sometimes I'd have those days once a week. What's Bryce done now?" 

"Strayed off his talking points and into the landmine of the Middle East." 

Toby's head snapped up and he stared at her. "What happened?" 

And more importantly why hadn't that been Ginger's first message to him once he'd returned from Treasury? C.J. held up her hands slightly. "It's not as bad as it sounds." 

"No good comes of that phrase." 

"We've got reporters sniffing around about Qumar and Shareef and he looked like a deer in the headlights answering the questions. Or, not answering the questions as it was." 

"Then you shut him down, C.J.," Toby instructed her. "That's your job now as Communications Director. You should know how it goes. We do not need this to flare up right now." 

"I know," she nodded. "My only problem is, Toby, I don't know what to tell him to say because _I_ don't know what's going on. Danny's been saying things and it..." 

"Okay," Toby said. He knew what she wasn't saying. Something had happened to Shareef's plane, the whole world seemed to know that, but so far nobody in the White House was saying anything about it. Only two people could accomplish something like that and keep it a secret for this long; Leo and the President. He knew C.J. was worried about denying too vigorously for fear the rumors were true and their statements would come back to bite them on the butt. But they didn't want to deny too weakly and add fuel to the growing fire. And everyone was still a little shell-shocked from the MS stuff of last year and going before the Grand Jury. 

"Okay," he said again. "I'll talk to Leo. Tell him we're getting questions again, that it didn't die down like he was hoping, and that Danny's started up again." 

"Thanks, Toby," she said. Then she smiled. "Here's something that should make your day. California's going to hold a debate." 

He tipped his head slightly. "Armand Sebastian initiate it?" 

She gave a little chuckle and shook her head. "Some citizens group that actually supporting the ex-porn star." 

"There's a story that's going to be interesting to read," he said with a small laugh of his own. "Sam going to be part of it?" 

C.J nodded. "He's agreed. Sebastian was hedging, but then accepted after Sam did." 

"Seems he's not real anxious to get out and debate things, even less after Sam pulled ahead of him in the polls." 

"See," C.J. said. "You've got a little smile. Sam's going to get this debate and really let the whole state know what he stands for." 

He merely nodded and looked back down at his papers, but glanced up again at C.J. with a smile. She stood, declaring she had to get back to work and fix this latest incident, but he could tell she was thinking the same thing he was, Sam was going to really show his stuff. He sat looking out the doorway after she'd left, and even though he knew he should talk to Leo about their growing problem with Shareef, he instead reached for his phone and dialed Josh's number. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

_"He's good at debates, at getting his point across. There's a reason we had him be the point against the President in his debate preps."_

"I know," Josh said, glancing down at his calendar and looking ahead to what was coming up to figure out when they could set aside some time for Sam for debate prep. 

_"He's got good ideas. He's up in the polls. This will show his legitimacy statewide."_

"I know," he repeated. He frowned down at the calendar and wondered if they should rearrange a few things in order to clear enough time. He jotted down a note to talk to Sam about it. 

_"But you have to keep him from getting too nervous. When he gets nervous he stammers and has a hard time remembering his point."_

"I know." 

_"And then, of course, don't let him eat anything that could give him gas."_

"I know." 

_"Josh," Toby snapped. "You're not listening to me are you?"_

"I'm listening," he protested. "I know we need to work on debate prep, I'm already figuring out when we can schedule some time for that. He needs to be sure of the facts, but we don't want to overdo it." 

_"And the non-gas producing food?"_

Josh frowned into the phone. "What?" 

_"You weren't listening to me, I just threw that in there," Toby chided. "I have no clue about Sam and gas. But I'm telling you don't take this debate prep lightly. Sam may be more-"_

"Sane than the majority of the candidates?" he chuckled. 

_"Yes, that may be. But he can't go in there acting smug because he could still blow it."_

"Toby," Josh said with all seriousness. "I know all this. I may act like I don't to push your buttons, but I know this. I'm already planning this." 

_"I want to come out there."_

"Toby, I don't need you coming out to hold my hand. I'm capable of preparing Sam for this debate." 

_"I know that, Josh. But I want to come out there and help. Make it a weekend and I'll tell Ginger to clear my schedule. I'll ask Leo if this can be a vacation or if I've got to go off payroll again."_

"We'd be happy to have you come help," Josh said, understanding why Toby was insistent. "We'll call you when we've got the schedule set. I know Sam will be happy to see you." 

_"Okay. Call me then. I..." Toby paused, then said, "I've got a meeting with Leo. I better go."_

"We'll talk to you later," Josh replied as Sam walked into his office. "Take care. Bye." 

He hung up and looked at his friend who sat down in the chair across from him. "I just had a very interesting call." 

"So did I," Sam said with a quirk of his brow. "You first." 

"Toby wants to come out and help with debate prep. I think...I think he just wants to be involved and figures a one shot deal like this is probably all he'll get." 

Sam nodded and smiled. "I suppose he also gave you copious instructions for prepping me." 

"Something like that," he grinned. 

"Well that's good. I'll be glad to see him. But you're running this, Josh. So don't let him try to bully you around, okay?" 

"What was your phone call about?" Josh asked, changing the subject away from Sam's concern about him and Toby getting along. 

"Victor Campos called. He's going to endorse me." 

Josh smacked the desk with a moment of joy, before bringing himself to ask, "With how many concessions?" 

"None more than we already offered him," Sam shook his head. "We had a long talk, he threatened to endorse the lieutenant governor, and I called his bluff." 

Josh smiled and gave a little chuckle, joy coming back when he realized they weren't going to be pulled through the ringer. He could see Sam's growing smile and knew his friend was just as thrilled, even if keeping it more subdued. "What are we starting off with?" 

"I told him you made the decisions with my approval, and so you'd call them. But we both felt mailers were the best place to start. You and Karen can hammer out the wording." 

"This is good, Sam," he smiled, knowing how much this endorsement would help. He stood, unable to sit on his enthusiasm any longer. "This is really good." 

He pulled out a folder and tapped it in his palm. "I'll get Karen in here and we'll work together with Campos' people. What are your plans tonight?" 

"Kathleen is home, I don't have anything scheduled, and I'm going to spend a quiet evening at home with my wife." Sam stood and smoothed his hand over his tie. "So try not to call unless it's an emergency." 

"Unless the building burns down or all the other candidates suddenly drop out, anything else can probably wait until morning," Josh said with a smile as he leaned back in his chair. "Enjoy your evening." 

"I plan to," his friend grinned as he turned for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow." 

Josh sat there for a moment, then stood and walked out into the office. Some of the workers were getting ready to head home, but quite a few were still around. Crossing the room, he walked over to where Donna was on the phone. He stood there waiting for her to finish p and played with the floating magnet sitting on her desk while trying not to fidget. 

"Alright, thank you," Donna said, and then hung up. She folded her arms on the desk and looked up at him. "Hey, Josh." 

"Hey. What are your plans for tonight?" 

"What did you need?" she asked, knowing his game all too well. 

"Victor Campos has agreed to endorse Sam. We need to work up some language for a mailer. Do you want to help?" 

"Sure," she smiled with a nod. 

"Great. I'm going to get Karen and maybe see if Jeff is still around. I'll see you in my office." 

"Okay," she said, straightening some papers on her desk. "Anything else?" 

He paused, then asked. "Do you have any take out menus? You always seem to have some and we'll probably be hungry?" 

She laughed and shook her head. "Yeah, Josh, I'll bring what I have." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Sam opened the apartment door and the first thing he noticed was that Kathleen had been on a cleaning and unpacking spree. A stack of collapsed boxes was in the entry way and he guessed she'd made good on her promise that they'd stop tripping over the last of the boxes. Walking into the living room he wasn't entirely surprised to see the channel on A&E, but he didn't see Kathleen anywhere. 

"Kathleen?" 

She popped her head out of the kitchen smiled broadly. "Hey there. I thought I heard the door, but I wasn't sure." 

He walked into the kitchen when she disappeared back inside. She was working on dinner and he unbuttoned the cuff of his sleeve as he asked, "Need any help?" 

She shook her head. "I've got it. Thanks, though. Do you have anything later tonight?" 

"Nope. Nothing." He reached out and snagged a pepper before she could stop him. "I have a free night." 

"How generous of Josh to give you a break," she laughed, her mirth belying her shocked expression. 

"I don't know how it happened," he shrugged with a grin. "But I wasn't knocking it. I'd like to have just a moment without meetings, schedules and everything else. Spend some time here, with you. Act like a normal married couple. Did you get to do anything besides unpack today?" 

"I had lunch with your mom," she answered. "She had those boxes she wanted to give us." 

"How was she doing?" 

"Really good," Kathleen said as she finished arranging the food in the pan. "Today was her slow day; no place she was heading off to to volunteer, so she was going to work out in her greenhouse after I left. She also gave us a plant. Said it was hearty and should survive our many trips away." 

She put the pan into the oven and then smiled at him. "There. I am so looking forward to a meal that doesn't come out of a box, bag, or come with a speech." 

"I hear you on that," he said as she washed her hands. Then he latched his hand around her wrist and pulled her from the kitchen. "Come on. You've done enough today. I'll clean up after dinner." 

Willingly she followed him out and sat down on the couch beside him. She switched off the TV and then turned to face him, hooking her leg over his knee. "So, Mr. Seaborn, what do you want to talk about? Something's clearly on your mind." 

"No," he shook his head. "Nothing's on my mind, nothing to discuss. I'm just looking forward to being home. You're in town instead of somewhere drumming up support and I just didn't want to stand around in the kitchen waiting for the timer to ding." 

She snuggled down into the cushions while also scooting closer to him and allowing him to wrap his around her shoulder. "Ooh, I like this. Just us, home alone with dinner." 

"I know it doesn't happen very often," he sighed. "Not exactly a newlywed period." 

She shrugged, even as her lashes fluttered closed. "Who cares? We had our honeymoon in Europe; we knew we weren't going to have that laziness once we returned. Sam, honestly, I know you worry, but I don't mind. This is our life. After the election, win or lose, things will settle down some. The good news is, while it's hectic now, it's nothing like the presidential campaign and how busy you were or how often you were gone. I get to come with you now on things." 

"Would you hate one of those?" he asked. 

"A presidential campaign...with you?" she asked, peering up at him. "Let's just get through this one here. We can think nationally another time and how I'd feel about it. Besides, honestly you'll freak me out and give Josh a fit if you bring that up again." 

"Okay," he agreed, leaning his head back on the couch. He knew it was foolish, even foolhardy, to think beyond the current campaign, but deep down he knew where all of this would eventually lead them. While it scared and terrified him now, he suspected it wouldn't always do so. He'd had a good tutor, and he had a good friend beside him. Someday...he knew it would come someday. He just hoped he was ready the day Josh walked into his office. 


	21. Candidate Seaborn 21

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"Why in the world are we in Fresno?" 

"Because Mr. Movie Star has gotten a little showy lately and we wanted to get away from the L.A. area. Prove that Sam is about the whole state, not just the coast." 

"But Fresno?" Toby asked as he deposited his suitcase in a corner and then followed behind Josh. 

"Why not?" the younger man asked. "It's a nice town. Would you rather we go to Del Mar? There's a nice Hilton right across from the racetrack Bing Crosby founded. I'm sure that would be a great image for Sam to project." 

"Alright, alright," Toby growled. "Frenso's fine.' 

They neared the room set up for the debate run-throughs and Toby slowed. "How's he doing?" 

"Prep wise? He's doing fine? He knows the stats, he knows the stories, and he's got the passion." 

Toby peered at Josh, wondering what was behind the nervous shift and underlying tone of the answer. "What's going on?" 

"Mud smears," Josh sighed as they stopped. "It's not like Laurie was really ever a secret, but it got pulled out yesterday." 

"By _who_?" he asked, a bit surprised. 

"Sebastian." Josh said the name with such a sneer and disgust that Toby was a bit taken aback. He'd always called the main Republican opponent "Mr. Movie Star" or some other derogatory comment, that it wasn't entirely surprising the first time Toby heard him say the man's actual name it was filled with venom. But he was still a bit shocked at the fervor. 

"Why'd Sebastian bring it up?" 

"Because the ex-porn star dug up his affair to sully his 'Mr. Family Republican' image." 

"So he came after Sam?' 

"If he's going down, Sam's going down too, apparently," Josh shrugged in disgust. "They splashed the old tabloid picture across the front page today." 

Toby sighed and looked while scraping his top teeth through his beard under his lip. "Okay, we can deal with this. We handled it before, we'll do it again." 

Josh blew out a breath that caused him to look up in question and dread. "It's not just that anymore. They're bringing out all of Mary Marsh's hits from last year. Living together before he and Kathleen were married, his association with you and Andi. Some skeazy little rag is intimating on their website that maybe he's the father of Congresswoman Wyatt's twins and that's why Kathleen had an abortion a couple of months ago." 

"What?!" Toby exploded. 

"Back almost two months ago Kathleen got food poisoning in San Francisco. She had to cancel an event before Sam got there; Donna went in her place and said she was under the weather. Even when Sam got there she still wasn't feeling one hundred percent and we thought maybe it was the stomach flu. That was the beginning of the Seaborn Baby Watch. Everyone was certain she was actually experiencing morning sickness." 

"I remember," he murmured. 

"Well, since no announcement has been made and they haven't even acknowledged the baby rumors, they're-" 

"Now leapfrogging ahead to the outlandish conclusion she had an abortion?" he asked in equal parts disgust and disbelief. Although why he was surprised, again he wasn't sure since he'd certainly seen worse rumors. 

Josh nodded his head. "Because she found out he fathered Andi's twins. They pulled out the picture of him hugging her from the 47th campaign, and it's just-" 

"Oh for the love of Pete," Toby growled and ran his hand through his hair. 

Josh mirrored the move and swallowed. "Yeah. So he's trying to ignore it all, but he's not handling it very well." 

"How bad?" 

"Oh, it's shades of the President," Josh said, slouching against the wall. "He's laughed off the ludicracy of the twins rumor, but he is livid about the stuff about Kathleen." 

It was what Toby expected Josh to say. All candidates hated their families getting pulled into the muckraking mess. But Sam had always been the White Knight defender of women. He fired the guys who harassed Ainsley Hayes, and he refused to back down when everyone told him to stay away from Laurie because of her profession. Toby expected Josh's description of _livid_ was probably short of the mark now that Sam's _wife_ was being targeted. 

"Alright," Toby nodded. "Let's go talk to him and get his head back in the debate." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

"Where's Toby?" Donna asked as she joined him in the conference room of the hotel. She looked around, then asked, "For that matter, where's Sam?" 

"Toby took him out for a ride," Josh breathed out. "Get some air." 

"He still wound up?" she asked as she sat down with a small, tired sound. 

He leaned back in his chair. "Oh, you could say that." 

"Did you get any debate prep done, or was it a wash?" 

"We got stuff done yesterday. Today? Not so much," he shook his head. "How's Kathleen?" 

"Tense," Donna grinned somewhat tensely herself. "Asked me to leave. Anything I can do while we wait?" 

"Nah," he sighed. "We cleared his schedule. There are no meetings, no meet-and-greets, no so much as a photo op. And anything that does need to be done is being handled by Greg back at headquarters. Let's hope that Toby can get his head back on straight." 

"How come you wimped out and passed him off to Toby?" she said with a chuckle as she pulled a pad of paper out of her bag and began to flip through some notes. 

"Hey, I didn't," he protested good-naturedly. "Sometimes you need a fresh voice in a matter. Besides, when Toby growls, Sam listens. Me?" 

"You're still his good friend and he ignores you sometimes." 

He shrugged. "Something like that." 

"Let's do this." 

They both turned when they suddenly heard Sam's voice. "I'm not paying you to sit around. Let's get going." 

Josh stood with a smile to match Sam's and turned to Donna. "Go get everyone from the restaurant. And see if you can get some food for Sam, please." 

She nodded and quickly left the room. Josh wove his way through the scattered chairs over to where Sam and Toby were standing near the makeshift podiums. "Hey." 

"Josh," Sam nodded. 

"How are you?" he asked softly as a few campaign workers drifted in. 

"Better," he replied, ducking his head slightly. "Sorry about before." 

"Don't. She's your wife and you love her. I...I don't know how I'd respond if my family was targeted like that." 

"I'm not going to get bogged down in it. I'm going to show the voters that I'm the better candidate and I'm not stooping to his tactics." 

"So what are we going to do?" Josh asked. 

"We're going to practice," Sam said firmly. "Let's start with business and taxes and then I want to go over health care." 

"Okay," he nodded. "I'll go grab the people for those sections." 

He turned to Toby before he stepped away and motioned him to follow. "Are you going to help?" 

"I'll stay here and listen," he confirmed. "And I'm going to work on a draft of Sam's response to these ridiculous rumors. I'm not saying put it out, but let's have it just in case we want it." 

"I want to read it when you're done," Josh said, then turned to get the right people lined up for Sam's practice. He knew Toby had years of drafting responses like this, but he wasn't letting anything go out, or having Sam say anything, without looking over it first. 

"Ready, Sam?" he asked from across the room. 

His friend nodded and stepped behind the podium. Josh sat down and crossed his ankle over his knee while propping his elbow on the chair next to him. "Alright. Let's start with business. Nick, that's you." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen slipped into the back of the room and sat down quietly. Sam, Josh, Toby and Joey Lucas were huddled together at the front of the room intently discussing something. Joey was rapidly signing until Josh interrupted her with a shake his head and countered whatever she had been saying. The group was talking too quietly for her to make out what was being discussed, so she just sat back and looked around the room at the people scattered about and going over notes. 

Presently the lead group stopped talking and Sam headed back to the podium. Josh sat down and leaned forward, "Alright. Let's go over health care. We'll come back to taxes tomorrow." 

The room quieted down and people focused their attention on the front. Kathleen leaned forward and crossed her arms, resting them on the chair in front of her as she listened to Sam answer Josh's posed question. 

"Hey." 

She looked up at Donna as the other woman sat down beside her. "Hey. How's it going?" 

"Pretty good," she smiled. "Toby got him calmed down and he and Josh have been working with him. He sounds really good." 

Kathleen turned her attention back to Sam as he talked about the importance of prenatal care and childhood immunization. She smiled proudly over at Donna. "Yeah, he does." 

They sat there listening and watching the mock debate for a little while longer. Then Kathleen turned to Donna, "Any idea how long Josh plans to have this session go?" 

Donna shook her head. "I can ask." 

"No, that's okay," she waved her off. "I'll just sit here for a while. Go ahead and do what you need to do. I'm fine here." 

She gave a nod and got up, heading over to a group of workers, as Kathleen sat there watching Sam continue his prep work. Mostly she just watched unobtrusively, from the back hoping not to attract attention, but occasionally she jotted down a note or two. She was letting Josh and Toby run the session since they knew the whole process better than she did, but she had comments for later. Right now, she didn't want to derail the momentum Sam had. After he was so mad about the rumors, she didn't want to inadvertently set him off with her presence. 

"You don't have to hide back here, you know," Josh said, sitting down beside her. "He knows you're here." 

"I'm just observing," she shook her head. "This is your show." 

"But?" he said raising his eyebrows. 

"I have comments, but I'll save them. His head is in the game right now." 

"He's better," he agreed, looking back up to the room where Sam was talking with Toby and another aide. "Toby pulled him back from the edge. I was just about to call a break anyways, so let's hear what you have." 

He stood up and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he raised his voice above the slight din. "Alright, everyone. We've made some good progress, but let's take a break. Go get some dinner." 

"Josh," Sam started to say. 

"I don't want you peaking today," Josh shook head. "We all need a break. Bill?" 

The campaign worker turned. "Yes?" 

"Can you bring some dinner back for the seven of us? Joey, can you and Kenny stay or do you need to go?" 

"We can stay," Kenny answered as she signed. 

"Good," Josh stated as the workers filed out of the room. He looked down at Kathleen. "Come on." 

She followed him up the front of the room and smiled as Sam gave her a quick kiss. "Hey." 

"How come you were in the back?" he asked. 

"You were doing good. I was just watching." 

"What are your comments?" Josh asked as they all sat down. "Come on, you're just itching to say things, I can see it on your face. I want it now so you're not sitting there stewing about it." 

"What are you doing on healthcare?" she asked Sam pointblank. "That isn't what you were talking about earlier. Who pulled you back?" 

"Nobody," Sam shook his head. 

"Then stop pulling punches," she told him. "Say what you want. Don't think that by mentioning prenatal care you'll draw undue attention to me and my supposed abortion. They're going to think what they want regardless of what you do. This is what they want you to do, Sam. So do it, say what you want to say." 

"She's right," Toby said. "You can't make them forget by shying away from it or toning down your message." 

"Say what you want, Sam," she repeated. "I know you're mad and you want to stand up and protect me, but don't let this throw you off your plan. This is more important." 

"So, healthcare," Josh said. "We'll talk about it, go over your answers again. Anything else?" 

"Environment," Toby spoke up before she could say something else. 

"His answers need some work," Joey said. 

Josh made some notes and Sam leaned over to Kathleen, speaking softly. "I'm glad you're here." 

"Of course I would be," she smiled. "I just want you to focus on this; forget the lies. But you're working on a statement, right?" 

"Toby is," he nodded. 

Kissing his check, she laced their fingers together. "Then we'll deal with it when he shows it to us. For now, keep the fire for the debate." 


	22. Candidate Seaborn 22

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

>"Sam!" 

He stopped on his way out the door and turned back as Donna came running up to him. She was holding out a cell phone and said excitedly, "It's Toby." 

Taking the phone from her he smiled his thanks, even as he heard Josh telling him to hurry up and get in the car or they'd be late. Donny quickly said, "I'll be in the next car. Tell Kathleen to call Liz if she needs me since that's my phone." 

He nodded and turned, holding up his hand to silence Josh. Walking to the car where Kathleen was already waiting, he raised the phone to his ear. "Hey, Toby. We're just on our way to a speech. What's going on?" 

_"Andi had the babies."_

He froze, half in the car, and then smiled even broader as he sat down next to Kathleen. Josh climbed in across from him and raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "That's wonderful, Toby. How is she? How are the babies?" 

Kathleen and Josh looked at him with interest, Kathleen putting her hand on his leg as she leaned in and whispered through a smile, "She had the babies?" 

He nodded and held up a finger so he wouldn't miss what Toby was saying. 

_"She's good. Tired. Babies are good...healthy. They come with hats."_

"Hats?" he laughed and shook his head. "So, what'd she have? What are their names?" 

_"A boy and a girl," he replied, and Sam could hear the smile in his friend's voice. "Their names are Huck and Molly."_

"Huck?" 

_"It's a family name on Andi's side," he explained._

"Well, congratulations, Toby. We're very happy for you too. Tell Andi congratulations." 

_"I will," Toby said. "How is it going out there?"_

"We're good," Sam smiled. "We're heading off to a speech right now. We're not letting up just because the election is two days away. But you don't need to worry about that right now, Dad. Focus on Andi and those babies." 

_"Sam," his friend said, his voice deepening slightly. "I wish I could have been there, but Josh has run a great campaign. You're going to do great things. So all I can say now is go out there and just do your best."_

"Thank you," he said, deeply touched by Toby's rare show of emotion. "You've done a lot to help me out, and I appreciate everything." 

_"Yes, well, I...I should go," Toby said, backpedaling out of the conversation that had turned too deep and uncomfortable._

"Alright," Sam smiled into the phone. "Take care of Andi and the babies. We'll talk to you later." 

He hung up the phone and handed it across to Josh. "That's Donna's. Make sure she gets it back." 

"How's Andi?" Kathleen asked, now ready to bombard him with questions since he was off the phone. 

"She's good. Toby says she's tired." 

"I'd be amazed if she wasn't," she laughed. 

"Huck?" Josh asked, entering the conversation. 

"It's apparently a family name on Andi's side," Sam shrugged. "The girl's name is Molly." 

Kathleen laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm so happy for them. I'll have to find out what hospital she's in from Ginger and make sure we send her something." 

Sam looked at Josh and just shrugged his eyebrows. He knew flowers would be delivered tomorrow and a package filled with baby items would follow shortly after. She and Donna had been buying things for a while now. 

"So, what are your instructions for tonight?" he asked Josh. 

"None," his friend replied. "You've been on a great upswing since the debate. You're ahead in the polls; I have nothing to say. Just go out there, do what you've been doing." 

"Alright," he said, thankful he wasn't going to have to listen to endless lists from Josh about tonight. "I can handle that." 

"I thought you could," Josh smiled. "This is just a speech and a rally for your big supporters. The election is just two days away, but you're mostly preaching to the choir on this one tonight. You know what you're doing." 

"Josh," Sam said. "I really appreciate your coming out here and helping. I don't even want to think what this would have been like without you; I really am glad you're here." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Kathleen stood backstage, watching as Sam had command of the audience. He had a cadence and rhythm that held them captivated, delivering a performance interrupted numerous times by applause. Kathleen knew it had as much to do with the words he spoke, as the manner in which he delivered them. He simply was on fire tonight. 

Ever since the debate he had really come into his own. He had always been good in front of a crowd, but he seemed to just settle into the whole process even more. His charisma just seemed to flow, connecting him to the audience. Kathleen had always known he could captivate an audience or a group, but she had never seen him quite like this. It was thrilling to watch. 

If Sam didn't win this election, she knew they'd be doing this process all over all again somewhere else. He had it in his blood too much to give up. He hadn't been deterred by his loss in the 47th for very long; he got right back in another race just like riding a bicycle. He'd regroup if he had to, but she knew they'd find a new race to enter in the state. And she knew after watching him shine and thrive under the right handling as opposed to fighting against his manager, that she'd support him for as long as he wanted to do this. Which, she knew, would eventually lead to a national campaign for a little house on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

Everyone around her was leery of showing too much enthusiasm, of speaking too confidently about the election. Even though Sam was leading in the polls, nobody spoke of winning as a sure thing. Anything could happen, and everyone - while secretly hopeful and happy about the way the race was going - hedged their words. The campaign staff had especially learned to do that after being sent outside to turn around and spit. 

"Get ready," Josh said low in her ear as he appeared next to her. 

"He's still got two sections," she shook her head. "Plus, the crowd's really into it tonight and he's slowing down for their responses." 

"We cut the last section," Josh told her. "We decided to take it out right before he went on stage." 

She turned and fixed him with a pointed look. "Why are you cutting out healthcare mentions about prenatal and child care again?" 

"Because this crowd doesn't care about it. They're mostly middle-aged and senior citizens." 

"And you don't think that care of their grandchildren or potential grandchildren is important to them?" she challenged. 

"Not when Mr. Movie Star has been talking about senior programs. By cutting the section on healthcare for infants and children, we could expand the section on seniors. Didn't you notice it was longer?" 

"No," she said a bit sheepishly. "I was on the phone with Ginger." 

He shrugged. "It's okay. But I promise you, Kathleen, we didn't cut the section because of the recent flare-up about the Andi and abortion rumors. It's typical campaign stuff just before a vote and we expected it. Sam doesn't like it, but he didn't flip. We just felt we needed to counter Mr. Movie's campaign proposals." 

"Alright," she smiled in understanding. "Sorry I automatically assumed and was ready to jump on you for it." 

"No big deal," he shrugged it off, showing her he wasn't bothered by it. They'd clashed sometimes, but both only wanted the best for Sam. Sometimes they might disagree, but they didn't hold grudges. "Get ready." 

She ran her tongue over her teeth to make sure she didn't have lipstick on them, and then smiled. Sam finished his speech and then called for her to come out. Walking out onto the stage, she kept her smile in place and waved to the crowd beyond the lights. Sam put his arm around her and she gave him a quick kiss, careful not to leave lipstick on him, and mouthed 'you did great' before heading into the next phase of the night. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Josh sat across from Sam as they ate breakfast and went over scheduling for the day. With only one day before the election they didn't have a very busy schedule, but still it was full and it would keep him in the spotlight. He didn't want to overtax Sam, but he wasn't going to let him disappear right before the election and rest on his laurels. So they were heading down to San Diego and then up to San Francisco before coming back home. 

Sam knew the schedule, always had, but they both liked to just have a minute each day where they could talk. Somehow having it on the pretense of the schedule made it easier to sit down together. This morning they had the sports section spread out between them as they talked over the scores and the games of the night before. 

"What time does the plane leave?" Sam asked as he turned the page. 

"Hour and a half," Josh replied, not looking up from the column he was reading. 

"Okay. I better call Kathleen and make sure she'll be there." 

"She okay?" he asked, looking up. 

Sam nodded. "I'm pretty sure she is. She seems to have gotten my attack of nerves; she was a little queasy last night. She was tired so she just wanted to skip breakfast." 

"Alright. Because if she needs to rest we can rework her schedule." 

"I'll call her, but I don't think that'll be necessary." 

Sam excused himself to call her and Josh leaned back in his chair, the sports page now forgotten. He knew colds and the flu were a normal part of life, but he did hope it was just nerves. He still got skittish with health issues from the President's campaign, and any time Kathleen felt under the weather the tabloids went baby crazy. Josh would never say anything to Sam or Kathleen, but he was weary of it all. 

Sam closed his phone and smiled as he walked back to the table. "She's feeling better and she'll just meet us at the airport with Donna. So, done with the sports?" 

"Sure," Josh agreed as he folded the paper. He pulled out his portfolio. "Ready for the schedule?" 

"San Diego mid-morning to just after lunch. Then San Francisco in the afternoon and evening. Midnight rally back here in L.A. Right?" 

"You got it," he smiled. "Tomorrow the press is going to follow you and Kathleen to your poling place in the morning; watch you cast your ballots." 

"Same as last time," Sam nodded as he tightened and straightened his tie. "Then what about the rest of tomorrow?" 

Josh stood and grabbed the last half of his bagel. "Same as Toby had you do the last time. Couple of rallies, nothing big. By that time it's mostly about thanking your supporters and waiting. We'll head to the hotel in the evening and wait for the returns." 

Sam paused as they were heading out of the room. "I appreciate all you've done, Josh. After the last campaign...I wasn't real anxious to jump into another one. After this time...I'd run for President of Mars as long as you were beside me." 

Giving Sam a slightly crooked smile he said, "I'd follow you, buddy. You've got the message and the integrity to stick with your principles. It's been a pleasure working for you. Now let's get down to San Diego. Because I intend to see you sworn in in Sacramento." 

"Josh." 

"Yeah, yeah, I'll spit. But you gotta let me have my moment here, okay?" 


	23. Candidate Seaborn 23

**Candidate Seaborn**

**by: Lori O**

**Character(s):** Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Sam/OFC  
**Category(s):** Drama  
**Rating:** YTEEN  
**Summary:** Sam and Kathleen prepare for their wedding as Sam leaves the White House and embarks on his own political career.  


* * *

"You sure you're okay?" 

Kathleen smiled over at Sam and nodded. "I'm fine. I've just got to get better at functioning on a few hours of sleep. I'm not like you." 

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, you can burn the candle short a couple of nights and then your body just crashes." 

"I know that it'll settle down after tonight," she said. "I'm just trying to get through until then." 

Since hopefully they'd be celebrating into the night she'd kicked everyone out and taken a nap earlier in the afternoon. She'd been exhausted and figured the last thing they needed was for her to fall asleep at the gathering tonight. She'd blamed the need for a nap on the fact that the President had called half-an-hour before their alarm was set to go off at an already insanely early hour so they could vote right when the polls opened. But she probably would have taken one anyways. 

While shortened campaigns might prevent voter fatigue, they sure contributed to candidate fatigue. Kathleen knew Sam was exhausted from the criss-crossing of the state. He just seemed to be better adapted to it than she was. Give him a thirty minute nap and he was good to go for the rest of the afternoon and evening until he could grab four hours of sleep a night. She didn't know how long he could keep it up though. 

"It's okay," he told her as if reading her thoughts. "I'm exhausted too. But then again, I'm also not pregnant." 

She paused with the fork halfway to her mouth, the bite of potatoes falling back to her plate. "I...I was going to tell you tonight." 

A nervous smile crossed her face as she twirled her fork on her plate and hastened to tell him. "After the race was called, one way or another. It was going to be my little gift." 

He smiled, warm and loving and reached across the table to take her hand. "I figured it out. Especially when you'd get all nervous and couldn't meet my eyes whenever I'd ask if you were okay. Subterfuge is not your best suit there, counselor. Plus, after five straight evenings of throwing up, but being perfectly fine in the mornings, I figured something was up." 

"You've known that long?" she asked. 

"No," he shook his head. "I suspected yesterday morning. Pretty much confirmed it this morning. Especially when I found the home test." 

"I should have known I wouldn't be able to keep it a secret from you." 

"Kathleen," he said as he squeezed her hand. "I'm not mad. Honey, I'm thrilled. We wanted this; whenever nature decided it was time to happen." 

She smiled, her eyes watering up with hormones gone rampant. "And if you're elected?" 

"We'll have time to get everything in place before I cut back my schedule to spend time with you and the baby. And people will understand if you have a lighter schedule. Have you seen a doctor yet?" 

She nodded her head. "My doctor didn't want to see me until I was six weeks along. That was a week ago. That shopping trip to get things for the babies? A cover." 

"Donna knows?" he asked, sounding somewhat hurt that she would know before he did. 

Shaking her head she smiled to assure him. "Donna just thinks I went shopping to get something special for you. She went to the baby store. So, what do we say to Josh?" 

"We'll worry about that depending on the election. If I lose, we merely tell our friends our great news. If I win, we tell my chief of staff so he can have time to figure it all out. That's what he's there for, and he'll know how to word a press release and make sure you're not harassed by the media." 

A soft knock sounded on the door and Josh poked his head into the bedroom. Behind him, Kathleen could see a few people in the main room of the suite, but most of them were down in the hotel ballroom. He paused and looked at them, a question crossing his face. "Is everything okay?" 

"Everything's fine," Kathleen said with a smile as she gave a quick swipe to her face. 

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Just talking over dinner. What did you need?" 

"The news stations are starting to call the election. Your significant lead in the early returns hasn't dropped at all." 

Kathleen smiled, watching the two friends discussing the numbers and returns as Sam stood and kissed her on the cheek, then headed out into the suite. She stood, dropping her napkin on her plate before she crossed over to the bed. Putting on her watch and earrings and slipping on her shoes, she prepared to join everyone. She knew Sam was happy about the baby, it was unmistakable in his eyes, but she really didn't think it had sunk in yet. Not when his head was still completely wrapped up in the election. 

As she stepped out into the room she noticed Sam standing in front of the TV as he rolled down and buttoned his sleeves. She joined him and quickly scanned the numbers on the bottom of the screen as the news anchor blathered on. Josh was across the room on the phone and everyone glanced up when he called out Sam's name. 

He pressed the hold button and said, "Sam? Armand Sebastian's on the phone. He wants to talk to you. To extend his congratulations." 

"Hey, hey, listen up," Donna said as she hit the volume. 

"And we are now ready to call the election," the anchor's voice carried through the room. "Sam Seaborn has been elected as the next governor of California. We'll be joining his campaign headquarters momentarily, and of course, any remarks Mr. Seaborn makes." 

Sam wrapped his arms around Kathleen and kissed her as everyone cheered. She pulled back and nodded to where Josh stood holding the receiver. "Go take the call, Governor." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

It was nearly three in the morning, and Sam couldn't sleep. Kathleen was sprawled out on the bed beside him, completely dead to the world. She had made it through his acceptance speech, the interviews and the party, all with a smile on her face. But when Josh finally said they could call it a night, they had immediately left. Once they were in elevator heading back up to the suite, the smile slipped off her face and the exhaustion rolled off her. 

Josh and Donna had been worried, so when they all arrived at the suite, Sam told them about Kathleen's pregnancy after she mumbled goodnight to them and headed to the bedroom. She was asleep before they left the suite, and he was pretty sure she never even heard their congratulations. But Sam, still on a high from the evening, had shared another glass of champagne with them to celebrate the good news. 

Now he had too much excitement racing through him to allow him to join his wife in sleep. He was going to be a father; he wasn't even sure it had completely sunk in yet. He just knew he was thrilled, and he hoped that he could be a good father to their baby. He and his own father had drifted apart after the news of the other man's infidelity, and while they talked, they weren't close like they'd once been. Maybe by the time Kathleen gave birth, Toby would have the answers to the questions he was sure he was going to have. 

The biggest cause of his sleepless was definitely the election. He'd won, and it still surprised him. Even though he'd been ahead in the polls near the end, he still hadn't let himself think about after the campaign too often. The sting of the loss in the 47th still was there, and so he'd focused his efforts on getting his message out to the people and presenting his ideas for the state. 

While he and Josh _had_ talked about how they'd do things during his term, there had been a part of him that held back in those discussions. Now all those meetings would come to fruition. They'd have to get a transition team in place, a staff organized and an agenda put together. They had a lot to do, and it scared him just a bit. He wondered, maybe just a bit too late, what he'd truly gotten himself into. 

Sliding out of bed, he crossed the bedroom and stepped out into the main room. Picking up the phone, he dialed a number he knew by heart and hoped the man he wanted was at the other end. 

_"Toby Ziegler's office."_

"Ginger? Hi, it's Sam. Has Toby come in yet?" 

_"Hold on just a minute, Sam," she said, then added. "Or should I call you Governor Seaborn?"_

He could hear the smile in her voice and it produced one of his own. "You can just call me Sam. You're sure he's in?" 

_"Just a second, Sam, I'll transfer you."_

The wait seemed longer, but he figured it was because he was sitting in a darkened hotel room in the middle of the night. That was bound to stretch anything into an eternal feeling. Finally Toby's voice came through the line. 

_"Sam?"_

"Hey, Toby," he breathed out. 

_"Kinda late out there for you," the other man said. "Can't sleep?"_

"No," he shook his head. "Too wound up still. All I did was toss and turn, so I got up. Figured I'd let Kathleen sleep." 

_"How is she?"_

"Pregnant," he announced with a chuckle, his grin growing. "So she's exhausted." 

He heard a stifled exclamation through the phone and he frowned in concentration. "Toby, am I on speakerphone?" 

_"Hi, Governor Seaborn," C.J. said. "Congratulations, Sam. On both of these wondrous events."_

"Thanks, C.J." 

_"Governor Seaborn."_

Chills danced down his spine as the President's voice suddenly came through the line. "Mr. President?" 

_"Congratulations, Sam. You and Josh ran a wonderful campaign. We're very proud of you. And congratulations to you and Kathleen."_

"Thank you, Sir. I don't think it's all sunk in quite yet." 

_"Give it time, it will," Leo chuckled as the President concurred in the background. "Then you'll be wishing you were back here."_

"Don't listen to him, Sam," the President cut in. "You'll be great. We look forward to working with you." 

"I sure hope so," he said. "Otherwise the voters certainly got a raw deal." 

_C.J.'s laugh carried through the phone. "They got the best man out there, Sam. And deep down you know you agree."_

He settled back into the sofa and yawned. "Thank you, all of you. You all helped me get to this point." 

_"Get some sleep, Sam," Toby commanded him gently. "You deserve it. And you'll see it all differently in the morning. And if you don't, then I'll kick your butt into gear when I come out there for the inauguration."_

Sam smiled into the darkness as his friends' voices came through the phone pressed to his ear, once again extending congratulations and words of encouragement. Their confidence in his abilities was helping, and he could feel the nervous tension and excitement of the day finally waning. He didn't realize just how relaxed he'd become until Toby's sharp voice suddenly jolted him. 

_"Sam!"_

"What?" he slurred sleepily. 

_"Get some sleep, Sam. We'll talk to you later."_

He didn't even try to protest and pretend that he was wasn't tired. He merely nodded and mumbled goodbye before returning the phone to its cradle. He stumbled back into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed beside Kathleen, who never even stirred. Tomorrow would come way too early and he'd have too much to do, but he felt better about it now. Or he was simply too exhausted to worry anymore. 

Either way, he'd face it later. For now, he'd sleep. He drew up next to Kathleen and draped his arm over her waist as she slept on her side. Resting his hand on her stomach, he drifted off to sleep just for now focused on his family beside him. 


End file.
